Supergirl and the Legion:  Hellsister
by DarkMark
Summary: The Legion of Super-Heroes summons Supergirl to the 30th Century to help fight a menace that threatens the universe--and a villainess drawn from her very being.
1. Default Chapter

hells1a Supergirl and the Legion of Super-Heroes 

Hellsister: Part 1 

by DarkMark 

Note: In "Kara and the Dreamsmith", an alternative multiverse was created in which Earth-One did not perish in the Crisis on Infinite Earths, and Supergirl, with the help of Kara Zor-El of Rokyn, survived her battle with the Anti-Monitor. For more details, consult that story. But more than a few of you wanted to read new adventures of a Supergirl with powers and a costume. In response, we're launching this series, which begins not long after the aborted Crisis and details the adventures of the rescued Supergirl. Since Kara of Rokyn is set in what I call the "Earth 1.5"   
universe, this series is set on "Earth 1.75". Hope you enjoy it! 

Characters in this and succeeding chapters are property of DC Comics. No money is being made from this story, no infringement is intended. 

-S- 

Linda Danvers caught the bouquet. 

She gasped in surprise and pleasure, standing there in her light blue dress outside Metropolis's First Presbyterian Church. She stood beside her foster parents, Fred and Edna Danvers. All three had been throwing rice till the flowers were thrown. Linda looked at the bundle of yellow roses for an instant. Then she glanced at Lois Lane, in her white bridal gown, grinning and giving Linda a big wave. Linda smiled back. 

Clark Kent, in a black tux, held onto Lois with one arm, waved with the other, and winked at Linda. She smiled shyly at him. Linda didn't have to guess whose super-breath had guided those flowers just where he'd wanted them. 

For a second or two, there was a painful flash of loneliness. Dick Malverne, Jerro, Brainiac 5, maybe one or two others...none of them had been the right one for her. Would there ever be one? She wondered, fleetingly, if the Supergirl who had fought beside her in the Crisis was still single. 

But then she looked across the way to where another blonde girl was standing. This woman resembled her to an astonishing degree, but hid her features behind a black veil and stood, unspeaking, in a black dress. 

Her gaze rarely left Clark Kent's face. A month ago, this woman, as Power Girl, had seen her cousin die in the great battle against the Anti-Monitor. 

No matter what, Linda decided that she still had it better than the Kara Zor-L of Earth-Two. 

Fred Danvers looked at his foster daughter and said, "I never thought he'd finally do it, Linda. But tell me something, will you?" 

"What's that, Dad?" asked Linda. 

"I know who he is. And I know who you are. But are some of these guys and ladies around here, maybe, well--part of the team?" 

"What team is that, Dad?" Linda asked with faked innocence. 

"You know what team," said Fred, in mock exasperation. "It'd be really fun if you took me up to   
shake hands with some of them. Now, it's not like I want to know which ones they are. But you know, I have met the Gotham guy. And I'll bet I could guess which one he is, if I tried. Is it kind of like the Mafia? Do you say, 'This is a friend of mine'?" 

Linda smiled cautiously. "Dad, I've gotta tell you. Whenever we think somebody's getting too curious, we have to take him to the guy from Coast City. And the Coast City guy has to use that thing on his finger to go over your mind like a Disk Doctor over a hard drive, and purge out those curiosity bumps. After it was done, you wouldn't even remember everyone that was here." 

"Hmph," Fred snorted. "You guys used to have to go through such stupid stunts to keep your secrets secret." 

"That was before we met the guy from Coast City," said Linda, nonchalantly. 

Fred, hands in pockets, said, "Irregardless, I'm glad your cousin, uh, Clark finally came to his senses. Edna's wanted to sit him down and talk sense into him for a long time. Now there's just barely time for Lois to have a baby." 

"Yeah," said Linda. "But I think ol' Clark will do all right in that department. And if me trying to play matchmaker all those times with him didn't work, I don't think Mom's would, either. But I finally told Lois about how I'd tried to get her and him together once, without showing my hand, and she cracked up. She said, 'That's just like what he'd do! You're a real member of the family, all right.' 

"Then there was that time I went nuts from the red rock and tried to make her think I was married to him, and almost froze her. And we were both laughing, even though, my Lord, when the red rock wore off I was just about lower than an ant's belly. I'm so darn glad that stuff is all iron now." 

"She knows who you are?" asked Fred. 

"Yep. Clark and I told her when I went by to give her the wedding presents. We all had a good time, and Clark said that if it took a Crisis to make him get married, he was just glad he was around when it hit. That's a joke. At least, I think it is." 

Fred looked at her. "How about you, Linda?" 

She looked back at him. "I'm dating, Daddy." 

"Anybody special?" 

"Dad-dy!" 

"All right, all right," said Fred, and went back to looking at the crowd. 

The Justice League of America and Teen Titans had inflated the list of guests, all of them incognito. The Phantom Stranger stood near the back of the church, protected by a spell that cloaked him from the sight of all but the ones there who knew him. Billy Batson, Mary Batson, and Freddy Freeman had made the voyage from their Earth to attend. 

Most of the Earth-Two contingent had decided against coming. The reporters at the soiree were   
already curious, and the Earth-One heroes' attendance was already pushing the security envelope. Clark Kent did have a secret identity, after all. Instead, the Justice Society had made an en masse visit to Superman in the new Justice League satellite and wished him well. Lois Lane of Earth-Two also came, still in mourning, but bearing up bravely. "We had over thirty good years together, Clark, and that was more than most could ever hope for," she said. "I wish that much   
happiness and more for you and your Lois." 

After a few seconds' silence, Superman had embraced her, and she wet his cape with several tears. 

Later, he excused himself, sought out Power Girl where she sat in the trophy room of the satellite and comforted her. The tough-libber front she usually put on had vanished in the wake of her Superman's death, and of the crippling of Wildcat. "I never told him I loved him," she said to Kal-El. 

Superman had taken her hand and said, "But Kal knew. He told me, Kara. He told me he loved you like a father. Do you think these things have to be said out loud for them to be true?" 

Power Girl had looked up at him wonderingly. Then she dropped her gaze back to her lap, and said, "Thank you." Reluctantly, the Man of Steel had returned to his guests. Power Girl rejoined them, on the periphery. 

Lois's parents, Sam and Ella Lane, were seated up front, as were Jimmy and Lucy Olsen (the latter had eloped two weeks earlier). Other attendees included Mr. and Mrs. Perry White, Morgan Edge, that idiot Steve Lombard on his best behavior with another cheerleader-type girlfriend, Pete Ross, Bash Bashford, and Lana Lang, who was still torn between wondering if she now had a clear field with Superman or if Lois had finally won the battle at last. 

"I wonder if he'll really tell me," mused Lana aloud. 

"What's that, Lana?" said Pete, casually. 

She glanced at him, made up her mind, and said, "I wonder if he'll really tell me how he got Lois after all these years, Pete." Lana put a weather-girl's grin on it. 

Pete, his other arm draped around his son Jon's shoulders, considered his widower's status for a 

second. "If he tells you, Lana, pass it on to me. I might could use it, you know." 

The redhead studied him for a second. Every woman knows the Look when she's being given it. She'd known Pete for a long time, ever since Smallville when they were both kids. He was a geologist now, had done quite well for himself, and was a single dad with a young son, Jon. 

But now, she looked at him with a different eye. 

He still had boyish good looks at 39, worked out enough to keep in shape, and was intelligent enough to be interesting. Lana felt some tentative urges stirring, and was glad. 

"Wanna go for something after this?" said Lana. 

The Rokynians, those survivors of Krypton, were out of phase with Earth for the next month, but had sent congratulations to their favorite son. The Kent family was represented by several cousins and their offspring. All were glad to see Clark tie the knot. All were wondering why a big shot like Bruce Wayne had shown up. 

Bruce, in a tux, had excused himself from Selina Kyle for a few minutes and was huddled with several of the other guests: Arthur Curry, John Jones, Ray Palmer, Diana Prince, Ollie Queen, Dinah Lance, Hal Jordan, Carter and Shiera Hall, Ronnie Raymond, and John Smith. Even with his Power Ring, Hal had had a hell of a time getting Smith, the android Red Tornado, through the metal detector. 

"Yes, it's just as scheduled, next Saturday at Gotham First Episcopal," said Bruce. "I know we've got these things going off closer together than firecrackers in a string. But please try to make it.   
For Selina's sake, if not mine." 

Ollie, holding Dinah's hand, said, "Bruce, paisan, ain't no way we'd ever miss you and the Cat--"   
Dinah elbowed him. "--and the Catch of the Day over there getting married. Besides, you know us. Dinah and I never pass up free food." 

The black-haired beauty gave him a firm look. "And you'd better not back out of our ceremony next month, Ollie. Or you'll be shooting arrows with one busted arm!" 

Everybody laughed, the Halls most loudly. Di pointed a thumb at him. "You think I'm joking. He knows!" 

Ollie grinned and spread the fingers of his free hand in an I'm-helpless gesture. Then he pointed to Hal. "My erstwhile partner has a dime to drop, too. Let 'em know it, Hal." 

Hal Jordan, hands in his pockets, gray starting at the temples of his brown hair, cleared his throat and said, "Carol and I have decided to make it a double wedding with Ollie and Di. Naturally, you're all invited."   


There was another round of congratulations and back-slapping. Ollie said, "You thought the security here was tough. What happens when those other guys in his bunch decide to crash the party? You know, the robot guy, and the one in the fish helmet, and the plant, and the grasshopper..." He tried to hold a straight face, but he just couldn't. Ollie was doubled up in laughter. Ray Palmer, smiling, grabbed him by the hair and pulled him upright. 

"Queen, I thought I made all the jokes on this team. You want a better one than that? All of Hal's friends turn up there in their green uniforms, and there both of you are in yours. And one of them looks at you, and points, and says to the guy beside him--maybe the fish or the grasshopper--'Is that what the Corps wears on Earth-Two?'" 

"Aw, hell, Ray!" said Oliver, sheepishly. 

Diana said, "I'd like to thank all of you for the gifts you sent Steve and I. And I'm sorry you couldn't make it to the ceremony. But you know it was a Crisis wedding!" Another big laugh. "I want you to understand that we can't make all the weddings, but you can regard us as present in spirit at the ones we don't attend. Is that all right?" 

"Sure," said Jones. "Perfectly all right with us." 

The others put on brave smiles when they heard him. But everyone knew how left out the Martian was feeling. As yet, he had no prospect for marriage. 

Arthur Curry sized up his friends and said little. He was glad to be back with the team. But he was still embarrassed over the fiasco his "new JLA" had proven to be. The group had disbanded after the Crisis. Vixen and Steel had joined the Outsiders. Vibe had gotten out of superheroing and was working on an entertainment career, without much luck. Gypsy had quit altogether and gone back to a normal teen-aged life, and Arthur was glad of it. He squirted himself in the face with the old trick-spray flower in his lapel. Couldn't afford to get too dry too long. 

At least nobody rubbed his face in it. Yet. 

A discussion was going on about villains. 

"Bruce, Ra's Al Ghul knows about you," said Ray. "What do you want to do about it?" 

Dinah said, "Send him notice to keep out of it." 

"Right," said Ollie. "And tell him if he doesn't, Clark and Diana will pound him flat." 

Bruce smiled, folding his arms. "I've already given him notice about that. He's honorable in his own way. I don't think he'll try to crash the party." 

Jones spoke up. "What about afterwards? I hate tosay it, Bruce. But the Talia thing...he might think you're still married to his daughter." 

The Earthman regarded his Martian friend for a few seconds before he spoke. "Selina and Talia worked together once, John. There wasn't any animosity back then. If there is any now...we'll take care of it." 

Ronnie Raymond, one-half of Firestorm's two civilian identities, saw a chance to enter the   
conversation. "What about Kobra, guys?" 

Silence. Then, Arthur said, "What about Kobra, Ron?" 

Ronnie, the youngest of them all, felt like the junior partner at a big law firm sometimes. Now was one of those times. "I know this sounds wild, but hear me out. If we got together on an aggressive operation, all of us, we could take down Kobra and send a message that way to Al Ghul and all the rest. It'd say, 'Don't mess with us, or you'll end up like this guy.' We could do it, you know. We don't have to just sit around here waiting for him to attack something." 

Bruce, who had the most experience fighting Kobra, and the biggest grudge against him, said, "Not now. Nice idea, kid, but not right now. Let's wait till after the season is done." 

The youth spread his arms wide. "Fine. What if Kobra decides to hit halfway across the world while we're all out at a wedding? I mean, what then? He probably knows who some of us are, already." 

"Not now," said Bruce, brooking no argument. He turned and walked over to another group. 

Some of the Leaguers were turning away. "What's gotten into him?" wondered Ronnie. "I was just trying to make a suggestion, you know." 

Ralph Dibny stretched out an elongated hand and set it on Ronnie's shoulder. "Ron, it's still too early after the Crisis. Nobody wants to take on big operations right now. We're tired. So are the   
villains, apparently. Kobra and Ra's may be planning...but so far, they're not doing." 

Ronnie considered it. "Well, hope you're right. Any more leads on Barry?" 

"No," admitted Ralph, sadly. Barry Allen, the Flash, had been Ralph's greatest friend among the   
League. "No, Ron, not yet. But after that trial and all...I'm glad he's gone. Wherever he is, he's   
probably someplace better." 

Ronnie shrugged. "I always thought the League could find out everything." 

Ralph replied, "School's out, kid," and turned to the punchbowl. 

A few seconds later, Ronnie joined him, and only made small talk. 

So went the wedding of the season in Metropolis. 

Clark Kent and Lois Lane drove off in the brown car with the tin cans tied behind and the funny slogans painted on the windows in white shoe polish. Linda Danvers stood beside Fred and Edna, holding the bouquet and looking after them. 

Edna put her arm about her daughter's waist and whispered in her ear, "Maybe there's still hope for you after all, dear." 

Linda put on her first aggravated expression of the day. "Mom, will you cut that out? I'm not ready for a husband yet. I've still got so much to sort out." 

Still speaking in a low voice, Edna answered, "You're almost thirty, Linda, and you've been 'sorting things out' for a good while now. Three or four big jobs now, and you're back in college as a grad student. How long do you think life's going to wait while you're sorting?" 

The girl's exasperation almost made her crush the flowers in her hand before she remembered to ease her grip. "Mother, we've had this discussion before. I told you, I've been doing some dating, but I haven't found anybody real yet. I'm doing okay alone." 

"You call what you're doing okay?" 

"You really want an argument here in front of God, guests, and everybody, Mom?" Linda stared down her mother. 

"All right, Linda, if that's what you want," said Edna, finally. "But when you get to be forty and you still haven't found somebody, just remember that I tried my best." 

Linda sighed. "If I get to forty and I haven't found someone, Mom, I'll go to Rokyn, find a   
matchmaker, and elope. Now, will you please get off it?" 

"Of course, dear," Edna replied. "I always do." 

- S - 

Later, Supergirl made the flight back to Chicago, the flowers wrapped up in her cape to protect them from air friction. She was flying too quickly to be seen by the naked eye, and she flew below the range of defensive radar. A nanosecond of opening the screen and window, disabling and enabling the burglar alarm, and she was home in her apartment. 

Kara unwrapped her cape, put the roses in a glass of water, took her comb from her cape-pouch and ran it through her hair to change it back to her brunette Linda Danvers style, took a blue pea-sized object from the pouch and decompressed it to reveal it as her blue dress, lay it on the floor and ironed the wrinkles out with a sweep of her forearm, and hung it up. 

She then stripped off her Supergirl costume, compressed it, dropped it into a coin purse, removed   
her underwear and stood naked behind drawn curtains. 

Kara sighed. She trudged into her bathroom, turned on the water in the tub, heated it with two bursts of energy from her eyes, and turned it off when it became full. Before she got in, she walked barefoot into her bedroom, where a framed photo of the Danverses reposed on a bedside table. 

She used her X-ray vision to see the picture of Zor-El and Allura behind it. 

Mom and Dad. Half a galaxy away, in a world that was out of phase with her universe right now. 

Foster Mom and Dad, in Midvale, almost as distant from her emotionally as her real parents were physically. 

And those damned flowers from somebody else's wedding. 

Then she took her bath, went to bed, and slept, crying only a few tears in the process. 

  
In the night, she had a visitor. 

Despite all the defensive devices and alarms she had secretly installed, an intruder appeared within her bedroom. He had not come through the door or the window. 

One instant, he was not there. The next, he was. That was the sum of it. 

Anyone who was present and awake at that time would have sensed a presence darker than the darkness in that room. But Kara was not awake. 

And the intruder had business with her. 

Her super-senses did not respond to his presence. Her sleep was, if anything, deeper than it had been before his arrival. 

Had he merely been thief, rapist, or murderer, she would have been far safer. But she did not stir, and the intruder went about his work. 

He extended his hand towards her, and directed beams of energy at the girl. 

Several ropy threads of substance came from her brow, in response. Kara stirred, but did not awaken. The unbidden visitor noted this, and was careful in his actions. 

The operation took less than a minute. Seconds after its completion, Kara was alone in her apartment again. 

She was more alone than she had been before the intruder's visit.   


And that was a very deadly thing indeed. 

- S - 

Ten centuries in the future, this will happen. Let us say that it did happen, to make our story easier to relate. 

A masked woman dressed in black was presented to a white-bearded man sitting on a throne. She exuded power, but the power he possessed made hers look insignificant. To some extent, they   
understood each other. Their purposes overlapped a bit. 

"Show me what you can do," said the bearded man. 

"And if I do, what then?" she snapped, not wavering her gaze from him. 

"I could destroy you with greater ease than you could imagine," he replied. "But you may be of use to me. I can bring to you the Supergirl, so that you can destroy her. With my help, if need be. I need powerful allies. It is more efficient for me to work through them, and concentrate my power on the higher objectives. And after I have conquered the universe, the rewards will be great. 

"Now. Show me what you can do. The United Planets has a starship crossing our space." 

With only a cruel smile to show her acknowledgment, the woman defied gravity. She rocketed away, smashing a hole through the roof of the bearded man's palace. 

Within seconds, she was in outer space. Her course was set to intercept that of a massive United Planets patrol ship. 

A message was shortly received at the headquarters of the United Planets. It was the last one they would get from that particular starship. 

The message stated that their craft was being destroyed by an unarmed woman. It was cut off before the end. 

The woman in black returned to the palace and brought with her the corpse of the starship's captain. She had stained her costume with blood, and burned it clean with heat from her eyes after tossing the body at her host's feet. 

"You promised me Supergirl," said the woman, quietly. 

"You shall have her," he replied. 

-S-   
  
The Science Police got the word quickly. Chief Brannard was briefed by Lt. Varon on InstanTime over quite a few light years' distance. 

"Was it a Daxamite?" asked Brannard, still in his underwear and sitting on the side of his bed. 

"Doubt it, sir," said Varon. "The ship had lead in some shields. A Daxamite would be dead. Rokynian is a possibility, but not too many around, as you know. Repeat: one woman did that. Killed 312 people." 

Brannard said, "Thank you, Lieutenant. I'll take care of it." 

"Aye, sir." Varon's image faded from the hologram generator. 

"16 dash 540 dash 21 slash b," said Brannard. The generator called forth an image of the Legion of Super-Heroes's headquarters, a gateway for messages. 

"Science Police, Brannard," he said. "Problem." 

- S - 

Linda woke, feeling rested but somewhat woozy, and chalked it up to her usual morning blahs. Supergirl or not, she hated rolling out of bed at 7 a.m. 

She glanced at the clock. The time was 6:38. The alarm had not gone off. 

Then what had wakened her? 

On the edges of what would be normal hearing to a human, she caught a familiar hum-tone. She stepped up her ear-power to superhuman status. There it was. The unmistakable sound of a Legion Flight Ring alarm. 

Bounding out of bed, Linda pulled open her closet door. She shoved her hangered clothes to one side of the pipe rack and pressed her fingers to an area of the wall at the back. Her prints were recognized by a sensor device. The fake wall telescoped back. 

Inside the shallow compartment were several accoutrements of her Supergirl identity, including the Legion ring. The rings belonging to herself and Superboy were outfitted with trans-time pulsers that received signals transmitted through a thousand years of time itself. 

She slipped the ring on her finger. There were several different series of pulses, like ringing bells   
on an old party line telephone. One of them was for a general alarm, several others denoted conditions from Ready Status to Emergency Summons, and one specifically requested the aid of Supergirl. She rarely received the last. 

This time, it was playing her song. 

Linda twisted the top part of the ring to a point which signified: Message Received, On My Way. 

Briefly, she wondered how much of her life she'd spent in the 30th Century. Linda guessed that, if she took that time into account, she could probably celebrate her birthday six months early. Well, at least she could return in time to only a few seconds after she departed. That way she wouldn't be late for work. 

Unless, of course, something happened to her in the Legion's time. "Think happy thoughts, Kara," she told herself.   
  
Within five seconds, she performed her ablutions in the bathroom, did her hair and makeup, zipped on deodorant and a mild perfume, threw on her Supergirl uniform, and was out of the building at super-speed. 

The air friction formed a corona of fire around her as she streaked invisibly through the skies. She ignored it. 

Supergirl burst out of the ionosphere, vibrating at a certain frequency, still accelerating. An IFF device in her belt identified her to American and Russian radar trackers as the Girl of Steel, not an ICBM. They only registered her for a few seconds, anyway. 

The reaches of near-space gave way to the unsettling kaleidoscope of time-flux. It wasn't that   
hard to do, Kara reflected, if you knew how and had enough power and speed to do it. Superman had had to drill her for a week before she could pop out with pinpoint accuracy at a targeted time. 

A subseries of flight ring pulses signalled to her the date and time from which the alert was being sent. She rocketed on, well past the speed of light. 

Supergirl wondered if, should she somehow get lost in time-warp space, she would be stranded there forever. 

Well, at least it hadn't happened yet. 

Mentally, she calculated her time spent in the warp against her rate of speed and began to slacken it. Over 800 years had passed since her time of departure. 

It was almost two centuries later that she reduced her velocity and bodily vibrations. I'm like a train pulling into a station, she thought. All off for Azusa, Anaheim, and the 30th Century. 

When she had slowed enough, Supergirl simply winked out of warp-time and found herself back in orbital space. Her lungs automatically tried to breathe, found vacuum, and ceased action. Kara willed them subconsciously to retain what oxygen they contained. She made a few quick orbits around Earth to reduce speed and checked things out with her super-vision. No great disasters to which the Legion had been summoned on-planet, no invasion fleets menacing the world. 

  
Well, then, she'd simply have to learn from the Legion why she had been summoned. 

Mentally, she kicked herself. All this incredible power, she thought. The ability to fly faster than   
light, to exist in the vacuum of space, to pierce the time barrier and reappear whenever she wanted to, and most of the time she took that for granted. No wonder that so often, life was stupid, dull, and boring to her. 

No wonder that she'd never really managed to fully give her heart, or her body, to anyone yet. How many potential mates could understand the power and needs of a Kryptonian? 

And most Kryptonians were dead. 

The red-caped woman sighed without breath, reduced velocity to Mach 12, and sped into the atmosphere. The sensory devices that guarded Earth in this century registered her presence, picked up her flight-ring signal, identified her automatically as Supergirl, and set off no defensive measures. 

Thirty seconds later, she was a dot on the Metropolis skyline. With all the time she had spent   
here, Kara reflected, there was still so much about the Earth of this time that she didn't know first-hand. 

She was never quite comfortable here. But luckily, she had friends. 

There was the Legion headquarters complex. 

Supergirl decelerated, dodging flightcars, ignoring the rubberneckers on the ground who pointed up and identified her as Supergirl, Superboy, or some other Legion kid. She was older physically than the other Legion members, who took youth treatments. But they had extended their age cutoff date for her, and would probably soon abandon it altogether. 

Kara slowed down to almost a standstill before she touched ground outside the Legion's main building. A small squad of Science Police were there to meet her. One of them held a scanning device in his hand. 

"Excuse me, miss...can you identify yourself for the record?" 

She stepped up to him, somewhat annoyed. "For the record, I'm Kara Zor-El, better known as Supergirl. Why? Do I have to show you a green card, officer?" 

Another cop looked at her. "What's a green card, miss?" 

The policeman holding the scanner said, "That should be good enough, but let me check your EEG first."   


Her brow furrowed. "EEG? What is this?" She focused a burst of X-ray vision on the device. No Kryptonite, nothing harmful to her in there. Reluctantly, she let him pass it over her head. She stood with folded arms, waiting. 

Finally, he said, "The brain waves check out, guys. No negative flow. She's legitimate." 

Kara snapped, "What makes you think I wouldn't be? Costume? Powers? Flight ring, for goodness sake? Is someone impersonating me?" 

The cop said, "Sorry, miss. You'll learn about it from the Legion. And for the record...a flight ring can be stolen." 

"Only from my dead body," said Kara. 

"Maybe so," he replied. 

She gave him a final look, pushed off on her tiptoes, and flew parallel to the ground up to the main entranceway. 

One of the Policemen said to the cop with the scanner, "Sir, what would we have done if it hadn't   
been Supergirl?" 

The scanner-cop replied, "I would have pushed this button here, set off an alarm in Legion headquarters, and prayed some of us were still alive by the time those kids got out here. That answer your question, Tyrril?" 

"Affirmative, sir," he replied. 

Once inside, Computo's voice notified her from a speaker, "Identification: Kara Zor-El, codename Supergirl. Entrance granted. You are wanted in the main meeting room. Thank you." 

"You're welcome," called Supergirl. She touched ground and walked briskly through the hallway. Despite all the opulence, the LSH Headquarters reminded her of a big mall in New York sometimes. She saw no one in the halls, and decided that the meeting room must be packed. 

Then Phantom Girl poked her head and shoulders out of the wall beside her. 

"Kara!" chirped Tinya Wazzo. "Great to see you again. Are you feeling all right now?" 

"Sure, Tinya," said Kara. Phantom Girl could make her body immaterial at will, enabling her to step ghostlike through material objects like walls. "Why shouldn't I be? Oh, right, you haven't seen me since the Crisis." 

Tinya glanced, despite herself, at the part of Supergirl's torso that had been torn open by the Anti-   
Monitor. It had been healed completely by Raven of the Teen Titans. But, for a time there, Phantom Girl had thought that Supergirl would be the next to join the ranks of the Legion's honored dead. 

"So tell me what's going on," Kara continued. "Why did you summon me?" 

"I don't have all the details," said Phantom Girl, stepping all the way out of the wall. "There's been big strikes on at least five worlds. A lot of our Rogue's Gallery are active. Everybody's on tap, maybe even Kal. Brainy and the others are strategizing. They want to see you." 

She smiled at Tinya. "Brainy always wants to see me. Well, it'll be good to see him and the rest, too. Hang on." 

Supergirl rushed through the hallways at super-speed until she stood outside the Legion's main meeting chamber. Another spy-ray identified her as a Legionnaire, and the doorway opened before her. She stepped inside. 

Fifteen Legionnaires were present, grouped about a long table. Brainiac 5 was standing up, holding a control device. The images of the Fatal Five appeared on holoscreens above them, with printouts in Interlac identifying them and where they were sighted recently. 

The others were Sun Boy, Cosmic Boy, Lightning Lad, Saturn Girl, Lightning Lass, Dawnstar, Ultra Boy, Chameleon Boy, Element Lad, Blok, Colossal Boy, Shrinking Violet, White Witch, and Mon-El. Adult minds at the mercy of adolescent bodies. But still one of the mightiest super-teams in existence. 

Brainy swung his green head in her direction, and broke into a smile. "Kara, hello. Uh, quite glad to see you. You are all right, aren't you?" 

She smiled back, leaping through the air to stand beside him. "Sure, Querl. And hi, gang. Don't worry, Raven put me back together better than a Houston heart surgeon. It's nice to see you again." 

She felt the presence of Saturn Girl, the blonde telepath, in her mind. Welcome back, Kara. Sorry I'm doing it this way, but I wanted to make sure that it's really you. I just did a mild probe, and it's you, all right.> 

Kara faced her, briefly, and thought, I'm glad, Imra, but next time, tell me first. I don't like   
uninvited guests in my head.> 

Mon-El was up and glad-handing her. "Welcome back, Kara mia! It's been too long since you've been in touch. Just wish we didn't have to meet over disasters so often." 

Supergirl gave him a big high-five. "You said it, Mon. It's double-plus good to see you, too. How's Shady?"   


"Doing all right," replied Mon. Her eyes lingered on the Daxamite youth. Mon-El was one of the guys she'd trust all the way down the line. He had the same powers as a Kryptonian, with a weakness for lead which he controlled by a serum. More than once, she'd contemplated him as a lover. But in earlier days, she and Brainiac almost had a thing going. In later times, he'd fallen for Shadow Lass. Kara wasn't a housewrecker, and, anyway, falling for Mon or any other Legionnaire would mean spending a lot more time in this century than she wanted to. A bicoastal relationship in which the coasts were time-eras. 

She collected handshakes, hugs, and greetings from most of the rest. Dawnstar briefly shook her hand and didn't meet her eyes. Kara didn't understand her reticence, but didn't press. 

Supergirl liked the Legion a lot more than she did the Justice League. These heroes and heroines had sought her out for membership, traversing a millenium to make their pitch. Not only had they been in her age-group back then, but they'd given her a second chance to qualify when she failed her first initiation test by a fluke. Also, there was no stupid "no duplication of powers" rule like the one that kept her out of the JLA. The League had waived that rule some time ago when Hawkman insisted on Hawkwoman being admitted to the group. Now Kara might be able to gain admission to the League, but she really wasn't hot on the idea just yet. 

The Legionnaires, as little as she saw them, were her friends.   
  
"Now--here I am," she said, taking a seat at the table. "I see you've got the Fatal Five out again.   
But you could probably handle them without me. And I've been brain-scanned twice in the last few minutes. It sounds like something's coming up for me, specifically. Why did you summon me?" 

"Because of this," said Brainiac, and thumbed the controller again. The image of a masked woman came up on one of the holoscreens. 

Supergirl dropped her jaw. 

"Her!" she said, after she found her voice. "Great Rao, after all these years...her!" 

"Now you know why we need you," said Brainy, quietly. 

To be continued...   
  



	2. Chapter 2

hells2a   


Hellsister: Part 2 

by DarkMark 

The bolt of power which had freed the Fatal Five had also transported them to Zerox, the Sorcerors' World. Now Tharok, Mano, Emerald Empress, the Persuader, and the mighty Validus stood before their benefactor. 

Mordru looked back at them, and he was one of the few beings in the universe who could make them afraid. 

"I am gathering a strike force to confound or destroy my enemies," said the white-bearded mage.   
"Though my power dwarfs that of any single being, I cannot function in many places at once...not with full coordination of purpose. I have brought you here to work as some of my agents. Accede, and great wealth and power shall be given you. That, and the lives of your old enemies, whom I will send you against. Refuse, and you die on the spot. Make your decision." 

Mano had taken his protective glove off. His hand sizzled with disintegrative power. Tharok, who was half-man, half-machine, and beyond genius in intelligence, stopped him with a single look. 

The Persuader thumped the butt end of his atomic axe on the floor, impatiently. The Emerald Empress's glowing mystic orb hovered three feet above her left shoulder, protectively, but she knew it would be of little use against Mordru. 

Among all of the Five, only Validus might be seen to have a chance against their host. Yet, though Validus outpointed Mordru in strength, the dark sorceror possessed many more abilities than just the lightning-headed giant's raw, unfettered power. Validus towered above them all, in the back, and waited for what Tharok would say. 

But there was only one thing Tharok could say. 

"We're in, Mordru. Now show us the Legionnaires." 

- S - 

In Legion Headquarters, Supergirl was still staring up at the image of the masked woman on the screen above her. 

The purplish-black headmask the woman wore showed her cruel, hate-radiant blue eyes, plus her sneer of defiance and half-smile of arrogance. Supergirl and the Legion had only encountered her once, but that had been more than enough. 

"Satan Girl," breathed Kara. "Great Rao forgive us." 

She turned to the other Legionnaires. "How could she have returned? She was merged back into my body." 

Brainiac 5 replied, "Then, unless this is someone else impersonating her, she got taken out of it again, Kara." 

Blok, the rock-fleshed, silicon-lifeform giant, rumbled, "The Satan Girl case is one I have not   
studied, since she was marked as deceased. Was she cloned from your body, Supergirl?" 

Kara walked to a seat, sat down, and clenched her hands together on the table before she replied. "In a way, Blok. Let me tell you the story, then you all can bring me up to speed." 

She sighed and recalled the events of her most crucial Legion battle. The one after which she had   
never wanted to see or read any version of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde. 

"It happened some years ago, both in my time and yours. I was coming to your era to attend a Legion meeting. Just routine business, but the bylaws stated that a member had to attend a minimum number of meetings to keep her status, and I chose this one. And just after I popped into your time, I ran right into a chunk of Red Kryptonite." 

"That's the stuff that always has crazy effects on Kryptonians," said Shrinking Violet to Blok, helpfully. "Makes 'em fat, or crazy, or giants, or gives 'em ant's heads, and like that." 

"Please continue, Kara," said Blok, rumbling at a softer pitch. 

"All I knew at the time was that I had a fainting spell," said Supergirl. "While I was out, the real Red K effect came through. The thing...it..." She fumbled for words, then burst out: "I was cloned! It cloned me, and the clone was, well, my evil side. My dark side. And it was just as real as...as real as me." 

The room was silent. The female Legion members around at the time remembered the case all too well. 

"The thing was, the clone was awake, and aware, and it knew what had happened. Red K exposure effects wear off in 48 hours, tops. She didn't want to merge back into my body. And...she knew how to prevent that. 

"If the Red K radiation were sapped from her body, the clone could continue to exist. So she left me there, unconscious, in space. And she made a bracelet weapon that could pass the radiation from her body into that of, well, non-Kryptonians. That's usually impossible, but she managed it. She made a costume for herself, all dark colors, with a lead-lined mask so I couldn't see through it.   


"I...you'll have to forgive me," said Kara. "This is something I hoped I'd never have to dredge up   
again." Despite herself, she shivered. Brainiac 5 touched her shoulder. She didn't shrink from him, but didn't encourage him either. 

"Pardon me, Kara," said Blok. "I can learn the rest from our computer records." 

"No, Blok, that's not the same as getting it from somebody who was there," said Kara. "I want to do this, because I have to do it. Please, Brainy, get me some coffee. You still make coffee here, don't you?" 

"Sure. Coffee, Computo," called Brainy. A relay clicked somewhere in the building and hot brown liquid poured from a nozzle into a cup. Within seconds, a robot server device would bring it to her. 

"Within hours, she located the female Legionnaires, and passed some of her radiation into them. They turned red and got sick. You remember it, Imra, Tinya, Salu, Ayla. That happened to all of them, Blok, and all the girls who were Legionnaires at the time. Plus Night Girl. She was a Substituter then. 

"Satan Girl showed herself to the male Legion members then, and insisted she be admitted to the   
group. She said she could do everything they could, and more. Naturally, they refused, and Satan Girl flew off and threatened to kill the girls. She found them on the world where they were being quarantined and gave them another ray treatment. They were sick. They were dying. 

"That's about when I turned up. I didn't know this 'Satan Girl' from Eve. All I knew was that she was hurting my friends, and I had to stop her. But I couldn't. We fought all over the place. She was every bit as strong as me. She had on that lead mask, and she kept me from tearing it away. Finally, she gave me a pretty good shot to the jaw and turned out my lights for a couple of seconds. That was long enough for her to be parsecs away. 

"I thought at first she was a Daxamite, but the lead mask ruled that out, unless she had something like Mon-El's serum. Then I thought she might be Kryptonian. But I laid a Green K trap for her, and she shrugged it off. She'd anticipated me doing that, and tricked herself out with a suit of lead armor. She hit me with Kryptonite, and I nearly died. Lightning Lad here dug me out in time." 

The coffee had arrived. Kara took time to sip it. Then she continued. "I finally hit on the idea of   
using the Super-Pets. I'd seen she couldn't use her ray-power against animals. So Garth took a Bubble and rounded up Streaky and Krypto and Beppo and Comet, and they finally took her down. 

"At that point, it was too close to the 48-hour deadline for her to recoup, and she admitted she'd   
failed. She unmasked. I just about...well, never mind what I just about. That was my face staring back at me. And she looked like a female Hitler, staring at me. Any of you who don't know Hitler, look him up, okay?" 

"He was in Superboy's body once," said Mon-El. 

Colossal Boy said, "And like I've said ever since then...I'm glad he didn't know I was Jewish." 

"Gim, shut up," said Violet. "Let her finish." 

"Anyway, there she was," said Kara, not looking at anybody. "My Mr. Hyde. She told me about how she came to be, and how, if she'd just given the girls one more ray treatment, she'd have been able to live on beyond the 48 hours. And then...then..." 

Brainiac 5 bent over her. "Kara, you don't have to say anything more." 

"Brainy, please!" snapped Kara, crunching the coffee cup in her hand. "Let me finish it. Then, her body just flowed out of that blasted black-and-purple suit she wore, and it flowed back...into me!" The cup wasn't destroyed, only dented. Kara gulped down the rest of the brew and cleaned the slopped coffee off her hand and the table with a burst of heat-vision. 

"Ever since then, at times I've wondered if someday she'd take over, or break out, or something. She had so much power. I have so much power. But we were lucky that time. She didn't kill anybody, didn't even hurt anybody." 

Dawnstar spoke up. Looking directly at Supergirl, she said, "Well, that sure isn't the case anymore." 

Kara jumped up, knocking her seat backward. "What do you mean? Has she done something?" 

Ultra Boy was out of his seat and grasping her arm gently. He could use his energy for one Kryptonesque power at a time. Right now, he had his ultra-strength on, to restrain her if need be. "Take it easy, Kara. We've got some bad news for you." 

"What's she done?" yelled Kara. 

Mon-El was by her side as well. "Get it under control, Kara. This is going to be hard to take.   
Don't tell her yet, Brainy." 

Quietly, but with tense muscles, Supergirl said, "Tell me, Brainy." 

Brainiac 5 met her gaze. "She showed her face to a United Planets spy-ray station. She wasn't even trying to hide. The Science Police and the Intelligence Corps put it together with a U.P. cruiser incident that happened shortly beforehand." 

"What kind of incident?" said Kara, her arms slack enough that Ultra Boy and Mon-El eased their grips. 

"Kara...no survivors. 318 people, dead." 

No one said anything at all for ten seconds. 

Someone coughed. The Legionnaires who were still seated fretted in their seats, waiting for her to break the silence. 

Kara gazed at Brainy for all that time, without moving. 

"Rao," she said. "Great Rao." 

- S - 

Satan Girl hovered in the void within Zerox's solar system and luxuriated in existence. 

Ahhhh, to be free once more from Kara's body, to be thinking, to be experiencing urges and lusts and pleasures... Her body quivered in sensuality, even in the vacuum and cold. And it was a further joy to know that she could even ignore that. 

Kryptonians could survive in space without a suit. Was that not a pleasure? It certainly was. She could live her life between the stars, and never once need to breathe. 

She could devastate planets, wipe them clean of life. Rebuild them at her whim.   
  
She could tyrannize worlds, whole systems of planets, make them bow to her mighty hand, instantly execute anyone who dared protest--or just anybody she wanted to kill. 

She could explore pleasures of the body that Kara never would have dared to, satisfy lusts that the   
blonde beast never even knew she had. She could force herself upon any suitor, male or female or whatever, and destroy them after their job was done. Or perhaps just maim them, so that they could never again do such a job for anyone else. Satan Girl smiled. Now that was being imaginative... 

She could have children from those couplings, or kill them in the womb. 

She could become a goddess to an unsophisiticated planet's people. Drinking in their worship, demanding sacrifice. 

All of this she could do, she would do, and more. 

For Kryptonians and Daxamites were gods, off their homeworlds. They really were. What a pity their morality forced them not to realize that fact. 

She clasped her bent knees to her chest and thought. The problem was, in this time, she was hardly unique. Billions of Kryptonians existed on Rokyn. Billions more Daxamites, with the same power, existed on Daxam. Luckily, there was only one prisoner still left in the Phantom Zone, that old poop Gazor, so there wasn't much competition there.   


But, somehow, she'd have to do something about both planets. Daxam would be easy. A shower of leaden hail across its surface, and the dead would litter the ground in heaps beyond Hitler's and Stalin's dreams. 

That world would stink of corpses for eons to come. 

She laughed soundlessly. 

Rokyn would be more problematic. Regular Kryptonite would not harm a Kryptonian under de-powered conditions, under a red sun. Anti-Kryptonite, such as that produced beneath Argo City a thousand years ago, would do the trick. But that was hard to make, especially in the quantity needed to kill a world. 

Well, there was magic. And Mordru had plenty of that. Rao knows, he could do the job, if he wanted to. If she could persuade him. And, running her hands over her body, she guessed that she had just the means to persuade him. It might be fun, too. 

Satan Girl had no illusions about her power relative to Mordru's. He could blast her from   
existence. Kryptonians were powerless against magic, and Mordru was the mightiest sorceror of the age. Possibly he was monitoring her mind, even now. 

She might have to watch out for him, as well. If she were viewed as a tool, he might intend to simply use her and destroy her once the job was finished. How could she guard against that? 

A point to ponder, indeed. 

Well, until she received her first assignment, she was free to consider that and other things, and to   
comport herself in any way she choosed that did not call attention to Mordru's plan. 

She had been manifest two other times, in different guises. Once, Supergirl had been given a contentious second head by Red Kryptonite. That was her first known instance of consciousness. She had been bitchy then, but not evil. Not yet refined enough for that. 

The second time had been her first outing as Satan Girl, and it had almost worked. Except for that stupid group of animals, it would have. Kara and the Legion bitches would have been dead, and she would have been extant from that time to this. She was evil then, but she hadn't really killed anyone. 

The third time, she was manifest as Nightflame, a giant sword-wielding woman who wreaked havoc in San Francisco, born of her old identity and some other elements added from Kara's psyche, amplified by a mage who existed in a sub-atomic universe on a world somehow within Kara. Even she was confused by that one, and didn't comprehend it all. She supposed that the sword and magic came from those Moorcock novels that Kara had run through once. That time, she had very nearly taken over Kara's body. Only the girl's undeniably strong will, and some psychic help from her friend Geoff, had withstood her. So she had gone back into nonexistence.   
No killing that time, but she had wreaked undeniable mayhem. It had taken Supergirl a whole afternoon to clean things up. 

Now, she was back. And she intended to stay that way. No stupid Red K time-limit to worry about. No little mage within Kara's brain.   
  
And once again, she had refined her evil.   
  
Time to give the old body a test drive again. 

She spied yet another craft, a pleasure cruiser, far enough away from their system to be "safe", even though the U.P. had now cordoned off Zerox's block of space. 

One of the worlds in Zerox's system was uninhabited, and had moons. 

She pushed herself off of nothingness, and speeded towards one of those moons, quickly passing light velocity several times over. Satan Girl kept picking up speed, her arms crossed before her face. The white, crater-pocked surface loomed before her, filling her range of vision. 

She hit it. 

There would have been a tremendous boom, if the moon had had an atmosphere. But it did not, and there was only silence and an awesome impact of body with lunar matter. 

Satan Girl had struck the moon at an angle to spin it free of its orbit. She ricocheted away from it, unharmed. Uncounted tons of rocky substance wobbled away from the world that had tethered it. Below, the tides of ammonia seas on its mother planet reached thunderously towards the orb that had pulled them, and finally crashed back to the surface, inundating and destroying land. 

She smashed into it again and again, at certain points she had calculated. The moon was spinning and hurtling through space at the proper velocity and on the course she had mentally charted. 

She could have waited a few days to see the result, but Satan Girl was impatient. Instead, she accelerated and vibrated at a certain frequency, warped out of normal space-time, and phased back in at a point two days in the future. 

The pleasure cruiser was unable to change course in time to avoid a rampant moon that no one had charted before. 

It slammed into the surface, and part of the craft was vaporized. 

Satan Girl looked at the scene with rapt attention. 

Her face was flushed with pleasure. That was what she could do. And it was only a demonstration. 

She entered the space-time warp again, going backwards, emerging only three seconds after her   
initial departure. Then she headed for Zerox. 

Mordru had just had an audience with some other newly-made minions. It was impossible to surprise him. He was now alone with his chamberlain, and looked up at her entry. 

"Do not do such a thing again without my permission," he said, flatly. "It could lead to imbalances within the forces that hold our planets in orbit. Luckily, there is no problem now that cannot be corrected." 

"As you wish, sire," she said, touching down on her feet before his throne. The chamberlain, a black-haired, black-bearded man in an orange tunic and pants, looked upon her with trepidation and male response. 

Mordru looked upon her, waiting. 

"Before my assignment, lord, I'd love to perform another duty with you," she said, smirking. "My   
recent--exertion--has left me quite stimulated. In fact, I feel quite overheated." 

She undid a fastening at the back and pulled off her purple costume, shucking her boots, gloves, and mask as well. 

She hovered a few inches off the ground, displaying herself like a seductive model in a skin magazine. Naked, with the body and face of Supergirl, but with the smile and cruel eye of a harlot.   
  
The chamberlain gulped. 

Mordru was silent for another moment. Then he motioned to his aide. "Leave us," he said. 

"Yes, milord. At once, milord," said the man, bowing and scraping backwards as quickly as he could. 

Mordru said, "Do not presume that such an act will bend my will in your favor, woman. You are still a pawn." 

Breathing heavily, Satan Girl said, "Yes. King's mate." 

He took her there on the carpet before his throne. 

The castle shook with the throes of their pleasure. 

And the cries of her consummation shattered windows all over the structure.   
  


She decided, afterward, that it was kind of a nice reward for a mass murder. 

- S - 

White Witch was addressing the other Legionnaires. As their resident sorceress, she had the necessary background in the case at hand. 

"We're getting reports in from Takron-Galtos," she said. "Despite the force-fields that inhibit space-warps in their vicinity, some of the bigger cons are getting teleported out of prison. I don't know if this would have been possible if they hadn't already been hit so hard there by the Crisis some weeks ago. The Infinite Man is still in check. My guess is that he might be too hard for even Mordru to handle, so he's been left alone. 

"The bit is, the Fatal Five are out, a lot of the Legion of Super-Villains are out, and it looks like   
he's going to be using them as shock troops. Brainy's guess is that they'll be stalking-horses, used to distract us from Mordru's true objective. I'll concur with that, from what I know of him. 

"A U.P. spy on Zerox reported that a group of mystics thought they could purge him magically of his evil impulses, get a good Mordru as an end product. They got him out of the crypt we'd put him in. It didn't work." 

"They died," said Violet. "The spy was called home in a big hurry. Mordru took charge again at warp speed." 

Kara reviewed mentally what they knew of Mordru. Zerox had been a sorceror's world even in her time. Populated entirely by homo magus, "magic man", its inhabitants had been everyday manipulators of forces beyond normal human ken. Mordru had somehow sapped most of their power into himself and raised his own ability by several orders of magnitude. It was as though one man had the power of all men on that planet. When the men were as powerful, magically, as the Zeroxians, it presented a threat to the entire cosmos. 

The master mage set about carving an empire out of his part of the galaxy, sometimes using his own power directly, other times sending the armadas he had subjugated to his will. The worlds were beyond the ken of the United Planets, and the beings whose worlds made up the U.P. were as fearful of his approach as they would have been of a Sun-Eater's. 

In the second year of the Legion's existence, when Saturn Girl was still leader, Mordru had come to Earth. 

He meant to conquer it single-handedly, and he was totally capable of it. 

Most of the Legion fell before his power. But they only served as decoys. Their real strike force was Superboy and Mon-El. While Mordru held the other Legion members helpless, the two young heroes hurtled at him from opposite directions, each bearing half a solid block of reinforced steel. They slammed the halves together at lightspeed, fusing Mordru into a solid steel block. From what little they knew of Mordru, they hypothesized he was an air-breather, and, deprived of it, would lapse into a comatose state. 

For tense seconds, as the stricken Legionnaires revived, the Kryptonian and Daxamite youths stood guard over the block. 

Finally, everyone breathed a sigh of relief, and a cheer went up from the observing crowds. Mordru had indeed been rendered inert. Superboy and Mon-El took the block and placed it in the deepest recesses of the Legion's vaults, and prayed that no reviving air could get to him. 

Eventually, it did. 

The four Legionnaires on duty at the time had fled to Superboy's time, but were trailed there by Mordru himself, who was intent on vengeance. His power was far beyond their own, but, by mistake, he trapped himself and was held prisoner by rock and earth, a thousand years out of his own time. 

Of course, he broke free again. 

The Legion, and even Superboy or Superman alone, had had to cope with Mordru's menace on several other occasions, each time restoring him to an earthen tomb. In the last instance, it took the might of the Legion and the time-crossing Justice League and Justice Society to subdue him and the three demons, Abnegazar, Rath, and Ghast. There were also legends of a great Magic War of the early 21st Century that Mordru had somehow been involved in, along with the legendary mages John Constantine, the Phantom Stranger, Dr. Fate, Dr. Occult, and Timothy Hunter, but there were no reliable records of this. 

Supergirl realized that her knowledge of this had been restored with her crossing into the 30th Century. She, too, was prevented from learning immediate future events from her own personal history, or from Earth's. The Magic War had been written of in a book created from a long interview with John Constantine, but most of his friends thought he was a few buttons shy of a   
raincoat anyway. 

Kara wasn't so sure. 

For all that, she had never encountered Mordru. She only heard of him from Superboy and Superman, from the other Legionnaires, and from their casefiles. Considering his power, she was glad not to have made his acquaintance. 

She snapped back to the present. White Witch was still talking. 

"So, although we'll be obligated to send sufficient forces out to deal with individual menaces, we're also keeping some members and some on-call people in reserve to try and learn Mordru's ultimate objective, and to abort that operation...if we can." 

Element Lad, the current leader, said, "That's my decision, as it stands. The other Legionnaires are being pulled in for this one. We can only hope Mordru or his forces haven't gotten to them yet." 

The blonde youth turned to Supergirl. "Kara, you've been called in as point woman on a task force to seek out and neutralize Satan Girl, however you can. You're at her power level, and you've fought her before. But just remember...she's apparently become a killer, and Mordru wouldn't have taken the trouble to get her without targeting you, specifically. Be prepared for something in her you haven't encountered before, though I don't know what it could be." 

Supergirl slapped her hands down on the table. 

"Okay. I'm ready to intercept her. If she's killed 318 people already...that means I'm responsible for it, in a sense. Who's on the task force, and where do we go?" 

"She'll probably be operating around Zerox, and it'll be dangerous for you to go there," said Element Lad. "Enough magic around to turn the universe backward, and that's one of your vulnerabilities. But we've gotten a couple of old friends to help on this one." He looked up. "Computo...tell the two Reservists to come in." 

A door schussed open. Kara swung her head towards it. Into the room walked two figures, a man and a girl. 

The girl was a beautiful black-haired wench in a black bikini costume and a red Superman-style cape. She smiled and waved shyly. "Hi, Kara," she said. "I'm kind of, like, awed to meet you. I mean...well, my name is Laurel Kent." 

The man was about Kara's age, brown-haired, handsome in a James Deanish way, dressed in a simple green costume, and quite confident in manner. Despite herself, Kara caught her breath. He was...interesting. 

"Hello, Kara," said Dev-Em. "Long time no see." 

To be continued...   
  



	3. Chapter 3

hells3a Supergirl and the Legion of Super-Heroes 

Hellsister: Part Three   
by DarkMark 

Black Adam had gotten the hell knocked out of him by the Marvel Family during the Crisis. Now, with a little help from Dr. Fate of Earth-Two, he was imprisoned in a magical stasis field. Even his thoughts were frozen. In essence, the World's Mightiest Villain was in a dreamless sleep. 

Then came Mordru's messenger. 

With a flash of borrowed power, the herald of chaos dissipated the stasis energies. Black Adam fluttered his eyelids, leaped back to angry life. He tried to say, "Who are you?", but there was no air in this pocket-dimension. 

Instead, the messenger touched Black Adam's arm and transported him across space and time. They popped into the reality that was Mordru's throneroom on Zerox in the 30th Century   
.   
"Who are you?" asked Black Adam, finally able to make his words be heard. "Why have I been brought here?" 

His mien was cruel and arrogant. Black Adam was the first man to be granted the powers later wielded by Captain Marvel. His strength, speed, and invulnerability rivalled that of Superman. But his evil had led to his exile from Earth for thousands of years, and only in recent times had he returned to his homeworld. 

Calmly, the bearded giant on the throne before him answered, "I am Mordru. You have been brought here to serve me." 

Angrily, the black-and-gold-clad villain launched himself at Mordru. His power and velocity should have carried him straight through the wizard's body. 

But Mordru raised a hand, and a lightning bolt sprang from his fingers. Black Adam was knocked out of the air. A flash of energy almost blinded Mordru's messenger.   
  
Now, a slim Egyptian man with no powers whatever cowered on the floor of Mordru's chamber. And the over-villain's hand still glowed with eldrich power. 

"Spare me!" begged Teth-Adam, who would never have spared a foe himself. 

"Agree to serve me, then," said Mordru, not giving an iota. 

Teth-Adam knelt before his new master, touching his forehead to the floor three times. 

Mordru sent another thunderbolt exploding from his palm. The loinclothed Egyptian was replaced in a flash with the powerful identity-form of Black Adam again. But this time, Black Adam was not so confident. He looked up at Mordru with more cautious eyes. 

The wizard placed his hand back upon his throne arm. "I have enemies whom I will allow you to deal with. They are called Legionnaires. You may kill some of them." 

Black Adam grinned. "That, O wizard, is something I understand indeed." 

-S- 

Supergirl, Laurel Kent, and Dev-Em were wearing earplugs that transmitted top-level thoughts when activated, like a walkie-talkie. It was the only way they could communicate while streaking through airless space. 

Kara, flying abreast with her two companions, reflected on how nice it was to have two fellow   
Kryptonians with her, even if they were separated from her time by a millenium. Usually, she worked only with Superboy in this century. She became quite schizophrenic, acclimating herself to a young Kal when she went on Legion missions, and then an adult Kal in her regular era. 

On top of that, Superboy's memories of her always faded when he returned to his home-time, and always returned when he came back to the 30th century. It was unsettling for both of them, and sometimes she was glad that she hadn't attended any more cases than she did. 

The Legion couldn't take many more missions with young Kal. They had to keep bringing him in from a straight time-line, each mission at a time after the previous one, so as not to produce dissonance in his memory cells. Time-travel was a hard thing for the mind to adjust to, as it was. And by now, Kal had graduated from Smallville High and was about to enter college. The Legion had decided not to bother him anymore, except in the direst of emergencies. 

This time, they voted to exclude him, and prayed they could handle it with the members they had. 

It's totally ulterior getting to see you like this, Kara,> gushed Laurel. I mean, every time I get   
to work with you and Kal, it's like experiencing living history. Uh, did I say that right?> 

Supergirl turned and smiled. Sure, Laurel. I understand, hon, and I appreciate it. I was so glad   
when I got to meet you. Know why?> 

Laurel bit her lower lip and grinned. 'Cause that means Superman got married?> 

You got it,> said Kara. 

Kara had worked with Laurel and Dev before in the big Legion war against Darkseid. Laurel was one of Superman's 30th-century descendants. She was a tall, beautiful black-haired girl, about an inch over Kara's height, with a long red cape that bore a Superman shield. Her costume was a black bikini-type affair, and she was barefoot. Kara smiled, and reflected that if she'd considered going out like that as Supergirl, her mother would have pulled a wall-eyed fit. It took Allura months just to accept Kara's hotpants. 

Dev-Em, flying to the left of them, said, Not that I want to clog your exhaust, ladies, but we're getting near the warp. Once we're out, we'll be within a few light-years of Zerox. You can expect detection by Mordru once we get out. Now, here's something to watch out for. 

Kara, here, is the only one with any experience against this 'Satan Girl'. If it's a three-on-one   
battle, like we're hoping, I'm pretty sure we can take her. But Mordru isn't a dummy. He knows that there's more than one full Legionnaire or Reservist, like us, that are in Rokynian / Daxamite power class. I don't think he'll rely on just her. If he does, chances are she'll be augmented somehow. That may indicate magic...and we're all vulnerable to that.> 

Supergirl shot an appraising glance at Dev, her send-switch on the thoughtcaster off for good measure. 

She liked the youth's brown-black eyes, the jut of his chin, his muscular-but-not-bodybuilderish frame, his strong legs, and, yes, she had to admit it, a tush that really turned her on. 

She was almost ashamed of herself, and hoped Dev wasn't watching her too closely. She wasn't sure how furtive her furtive glances were, to him. 

Laurel sent a private message to her. I know what you're thinking!> 

That obvious, huh?> Kara p.m.'ed back to her. Sorry, Laurel. Need to keep my mind on the job.> 

Don't worry about it, we're not an item,> Laurel replied. Kara sighed. She liked the heck out of   
Laurel, but, like it or not, the girl still had a high-school mentality. 

Dev wasn't exactly Captain Whitebread. He was a good guy, but had a harder edge than Kal...more like James Dean, or even Sean Connery, Kara thought. That comparison wasn't far off, because, in his regular life, Dev-Em was a spy. 

She recalled what she had learned of him, both from Superman and from the Legion's case files.   
Though he looked like he was in his early twenties, Dev was actually older than her. He was, in fact, a 20th Century Kryptonian and even older than Kal. When Kal was a baby, Dev was a teenager, Kal's next-door neighbor. 

He had also been a juvenile delinquent. 

Nobody really knew why Dev had gone bad. It may have been a case of too much privelage and not enough responsibilty. His father, Ron-Em, had been a fairly successful banker and as high up in the social food chain as the El's. If Krypton society had held moneymaking ability above scientific smarts, as Earth did, Jor-El wouldn't even have been in the Ems' neighborhood. 

As it was, Dev didn't appear to think he could match his father's achievements. Thus, he ran with a gang, vandalized, played pranks, and got in trouble on a semi-regular basis. After one spree, when Dev was 15, the Youth Police had nabbed him, proven his guilt, and told his parents that the next such offense would land him in juvenile hall. He promised his parents that they'd never have to go through such an ordeal again, and they believed him, or wanted to. 

Of course, all he meant was that he didn't intend to get caught. 

Dev had had somewhat of a reputation as a genius. He had gained it by exercising one of his real talents: thievery. No matter how good the security net of a laboratory, factory, or scientist's office, Dev could penetrate it. He claimed that the inventions he thus came by were his own invention. But he refused to let anyone but his parents, and sometimes, his gang, know about them. "I'll let 'em know when I'm good and ready," he told Ron-Em and his mother Leeta. 

If his thefts had been discovered, Dev could have gotten a long prison sentence for industrial espionage. So he usually returned the inventions, or the plans (after he photocopied them), within a few days. The companies didn't want to admit to the outside world that they'd been burgled. They didn't talk with each other that much. So far, Dev had gotten away with it. 

Then, Dev and his family watched a holovid that had altered his life forever. 

Zor-El and Jor-El had paid for time on one of the big waveworks, and the Ems had watched their neighbor try to convince the people of Krypton once again that their planet was about to explode. 

Jor had been on this kick for a couple of years now, and it was wearing thin. "The core of Krypton is composed of uranium, and it has finally become fissionable," warned Jor-El. "It is my belief, supported by what data are available, that this substance is quickly approaching critical mass. Tanthi and tyntho, we cannot ignore the fact: we are all walking upon a titanic atomic bomb." 

"Is he sober?" asked Leeta. 

"Quiet, Leetaish," said Ron-Em, who believed. 

For all his brashness, Dev had watched, and listened. 

Jor-El was not the most effective speaker. The tension of the last two years had aged him visibly.   
Even the makeup artists couldn't hide the bags under his eyes or the tenseness of his jaw muscles. For all his sincerity, Jor was not the best of salesmen. His lecture included too much scientific arcana for the laymen. His very tension made him smack too much of the mad prophet. 

Comedians were already doing Jor-El routines, in which the "mad scientist" leaped under a table for safety when he heard somebody pop a blown-up paper bag. Everybody laughed, and that was comforting to most. Krypton had been around for billions of years with a uranium core, and was bound to be around for a billion or two more. 

But some believed. Not enough to get Jor-El and Zor-El the finances and government permission to construct the giant space-arks they wanted to build, but a few did take him seriously. 

That night, Dev-Em became one of them. 

It might not happen, but, if it did, Dev wanted himself and his family to be among the survivors. 

There was an Invasion Shelter in the front yard, a big metal dome with provisions and sleeping cots inside. If aliens really did ravage Krypton again, Dev figured it would be as much use as trying to put out a forest fire by spitting on it. But it could, with some doing, be made into a survival chamber for Krypton's destruction. 

Dev went about the task the most efficient way, in his mind. He stole the necessary equipment. Lead plating, rocket tubes, oxygen canisters, food pills, water containers, and three suspended animation chambers. All of them went into the Alien Shelter. It took a good long while. 

Mom and Dad were pleased that he finally had a worthwhile project to work on. His buddies in the gang had given up on him, carried out their prank-raids without him, and were now cooling their heels in Juvie Hall. He grinned when he heard of it. 

He finished the job about a month before the first tremors hit. 

The emergency broadcast left no doubt: the entire globe was suffering incredible seismic damage. Quakes off the scale, volcanic activity, boiling seas, even radiation emissions from the cracks. 

That day, the Ems had gone outside, and saw the little rocket bearing Kal-El take to the skies. 

A second later, Dev told his parents, "Come on. He won't be the only one." 

The three members of the Em family had entered the shelter, activated the rockets, strapped themselves into the capsules, and breathed in a gas that put them in suspended animation. 

Those in the neighborhood still alive to see it had witnessed the big dome taking to the skies, had   
screamed that it wasn't fair, and were still screaming it thirty minutes later when Krypton finally blew up. 

The shelter's rockets had automatically stopped firing when enough distance had been gained from what had been Krypton. Thus, even though the Em's shelter had passed through the space-warp emerging in Terra's solar system, it drifted. Kal-El's ship still rocketed forward, its internal guidance system heading it unerringly towards Earth. 

The Ems' shelter took ten more years to get there, but it, too, landed on Earth. The jolt of landing   
accidentally cracked Dev's chamber, and he revived from his comatose state, not physically a day older. 

When he sat up, impulsively, he broke the metal bands restraining him. 

That was how he learned what happened to Kryptonians on Earth. 

Dev-Em's parents were still in their dreamless sleep. An adventure ensued in which Dev learned of Superboy, learned he was the young neighbor boy whom he used to torment at times, and implemented a scheme to humiliate him by impersonating him and playing super-pranks. In the end, Dev used his own powers to propel himself and the shelter bearing his parents into the far future. Superboy's reputation was so badly tarnished that he was on the point of leaving Earth.   
Luckily, Chief Parker, Superboy's best friend on the police force, concocted a hoax that made it appear the Boy of Steel had been maddened by Red Kryptonite, and he was allowed to stay on his new homeworld. 

Some months after that, Superboy attended a Legion meeting, and learned just where Dev-Em had gone. Or, to be more precise, when. 

Supergirl broke out of her reverie. She turned her head towards Dev and p.m.'ed him. Dev, tell me: just why did you go straight when you came here, anyway?> 

He looked at her. He had a half-smile on his face. She knew he was sizing her up. 

I'll tell you after we get out of the warp, Kara,> he said. 

Before them, within immediate flying distance, was a space-warp. 

It would be impossible to discern without training or proper instruments. But all three of them, veteran space-travellers, could recognize the subtle changes of a patch in which Space collided with Sub-Space. These continuua holes were the things which made interstellar and intergalactic travel possible. 

Follow me,> said Dev, and they plunged into the warp. 

-S- 

Mordru's messenger had just plucked two more recruits from their various places in time. Neither   
had been able to resist them. After they had settled down, fuming, he had informed them, "Be not arrogant in the Master's presence. He needs persons to perform certain tasks. If you are not compliant, you will be destroyed and others will be found to take your place." 

"If we do something for him, can we go home?" said the male of the pair. 

"You may," he said. "Or you may not, as is the Master's whim. Watch this." He had replayed a   
simulation of Black Adam's humiliation at Mordru's hands. Neither of them knew who Black Adam was, but they could gauge Mordru's power. 

"Looks like we've got rings through our lips," commented the female. And they were ushered into Mordru's presence. 

Mordru had made his offer. Both of them agreed. Mordru had turned to the costumed male. "You will be sent to Earth, on a mission of thievery. My aide will give you instructions. Go." 

"Got it," he said, and left with the messenger. 

Then Mordru turned to the woman. "You will join two other of my pawns immediately. Undoubtedly, the Supergirl has been alerted of a certain occurrence and is on her way. She will not be alone. Capture her and her allies if you can. Kill them if you must." 

For the first time since her arrival on Zerox, the woman smiled. 

"Supergirl I've heard of," she said. "When do I get to break her?" 

-S- 

Supergirl, Dev, and Laurel propelled themselves through warp-space. Magnetic patterns, light waves, radiation, all were visible there, whirling patterns that startled and stunned the untrained eye. 

Each of them could still see themselves and the other two. It was difficult to gauge speed here, or   
even the fact that they were flying. In the constantly-changing warpscape, there was little by   
which to measure distance covered. Yet they were able to navigate it, by means of a device in their earplugs that beeped louder when they were online with the other aperture of the warp. So   
there was distance in subspace, after all, distorted though it be to their senses. 

Kara wondered if there were living beings in subspace, and if they had ever made their way out into the "normal" dimension. If so, would humans--even enhanced humans from Krypton--have senses that would perceive them? 

She sighed. So much fascinating universe to explore, and all she ever ended up doing was fighting. 

My breakfast wants to make a fashion statement all over my suit,> sent Laurel. 

Kara laughed. Don't worry, Laurel, we'll be out of here before long.> 

Dev said nothing. On impulse, Kara p.m.'ed Laurel, What do you know about Dev?> 

Laurel sent back, Dev? Oh, just the usual. Came from your time, ended up here, enlisted in the United Planets Intelligence Corps. He's also their Legion liason.> 

Has he been on lots of spy missions?>, asked Kara, thinking about what would be the 30th century equivalent of an Ian Fleming venue. 

The brunette girl laughed. Honestly. I mean, like, how would I know? They don't, like, tell you   
about spies until after they've quit being spies. And maybe not, you know, even for a long time after that. I think he's pretty good, though. You like him, don't   
you?> 

Laurel!> Supergirl grinned at her. 

Laurel stuck her tongue out at Supergirl. You're not in the least bit enigmatic, you know.> 

I'm sure.> Then she said, It'd make things a lot easier if we could get a whole squad of Daxamites or Rokynians to back us up.> 

Laurel looked back soberly. You know they won't let us do that.> 

Kara nodded. 

One of the strangest aspects of this era to her, besides the fact that billions of Rokynians were alive, was the fact that both they and the Daxamites were by and large restricted to their own solar systems. 

Express permission of the United Planets had to be granted to each individual from Rokyn or Daxam who wanted to leave the confines of their planets. Quite often, such permission was denied. 

The rationale was simple. Rokynians and Daxamites were among the most powerful mortal beings in the universe. In a world of lesser gravity and a non-red sun, a single Rokynian or Daxamite could gain enough power to conquer that world singlehandedly--or to destroy it. 

Indeed, one of the Legion's deadliest battles was fought against the entire population of Daxam,   
mesmerized by Darkseid and turned into an unstoppable army of supermen. Kara shuddered at the memory, recalling how she herself had come to grips with the tyrant of Apokolips and almost had her skull crushed by him. But Darkseid's thousand-year-old powers had waned, and he was unable to keep the Daxamites in thrall. Rather than face their might, he teleported away. 

If anything, that had reinforced the will of the U.P. Daxam's and Rokyn's people enjoyed the full   
benefits of United Planets technology, communications, trade, and protection. They just had to stay on-planet to do it. 

Laurel was an Earthwoman, one of the descendants of Superman and Lois Lane. (Kara did a mental double-take when she realized she had just witnessed the marriage that would make Laurel's existence possible.) Some of the 30th Century Kent / El family had full Kryptonian   
powers. In other branches, the powers had been weakened or altered by intermarriage with persons of other races or planets. So far, the only power Laurel exhibited was invulnerability, and, recently, a bit of super-strength...the legacy of long intermarriages with non-Kryptonians. 

There had been a case or two in history in which one of the family went renegade. It had required the efforts of other family members to take down their errant spawn. Only recently had the Kent / El family been allowed to return to Earth, within the last 200 years. 

In the cases of Kara, young Kal, and Mon-El, the U.P. had waived their rulings. But most Kryptonians or Daxamites were only allowed off-world after careful screening, and only for a limited time. The few who were allowed to live on other worlds had to check in periodically for review, like parolees facing a prison board.   
  
After enough of such treatment, the Rokynians and Daxamites usually got disgusted enough to return to their homeworlds. And that was just fine, as far as the U.P. was concerned. 

The beeping of the teleplug in her ear alerted Kara to the warp-hole's nearness. Up ahead, a gateway into the regular universe. She glimpsed constellations through it. Stars rarely ever looked so good to her. 

Let's make the jump, ladies,> said Dev, flying point. We may come out on calm space. But I've got a feeling Mordru may have a reception committee waiting for us.> 

You don't get to be a space tyrant by not watching your back,> said Kara. Lead on, Devian.> 

Dev preceded them into normal space by half the length of his body. 

Kara's eyes followed that body all the way, even as she and Laurel punched through the boundary into their own universe. 

-S- 

Satan Girl was less than pleased. 

If it had been any less than Mordru himself who sent you, I'd tear your eyes out,> she snapped,   
telepathically. She and the other two also had teleplugs. 

Watch your tone, woman,> said the Egyptian. Had you spoken thus to me in my youth, I would have had you fed living, bit by bit, to the crocodiles.> 

The other woman, hovering in space near them, retorted, Frab that. Save the static for Kara and   
whomever she comes with. But if you give me a line like that again, Satan Girl, I'm likely to remember you look like somebody I don't like very much.> 

The masked girl turned to her. And I would make you look like somebody no one would recognize,> she retorted, in a p.m. 

Black Adam raised his arm, pointing towards the warp. There they are. Confirm it.> 

He had no super-senses. But the powerful eyes of the two Kryptonians beside him registered the threesome emerging into normal space, just as those three were scrutinizing the three villains from afar. 

Kara,> said the woman. I don't know the other two, but they've got to be Kryptonian or Daxamite.> 

Satan Girl sneered. The others are Laurel Kent and Dev-Em. I have her memories. I warn you, leave Supergirl to me.> 

Fine by me,> the other woman replied. By that time, all three of them were in flight. 

For Black Adam, it was merely a job. For the female Kryptonian, it was that, and a chance to have a little vicious, violent fun. For Satan Girl, it was the pleasure of a lifetime, the fulfillment of her short and terrible existence. 

Killing hundreds of meaningless people could never equal the thrill of destroying Supergirl. 

She let forth a silent scream of rage and pleasure. 

Dev, Kara, and Laurel were hurtling forward themselves. I.d., Kara,> Dev sent, not wavering his gaze from them. 

That's...Satan Girl in the middle,> Kara ground out. The guy is Black Adam. He's one of Captain Marvel's enemies in my time. His powers are Krypton-class. The other one looks like a Zoner, but I'm not sure which.> 

Laurel, grim and earnest as only a young warrior can be, belted out, Ar-Ual. That's Ar-Ual. She was absent from the Zone when they let most of the inmates out. She fought Superman and Wonder Woman once. I read up on it.> 

Dev's face was granite. Mordru was prepared for us. He's raiding other times for soldiers.   
Ladies...prepare to engage.> 

Kara was about to suggest a tactic from 20th Century air warfare, all or two of them concentrating on taking out one foe. 

But before she could do that, a purple-clad figure missled towards her, preceded only by her telepathic communication. 

KILLYOUKILLYOUKILLYOUKILLYOUKILLY> 

Then Satan Girl hit her. 

to be continued   
  



	4. Chapter 4

hells4a Supergirl and the Legion of Super-Heroes:   
Hellsister: Part 4   
by DarkMark 

Even in 30th Century Metropolis, there are places where you can open up a space warp and not get detected. 

The particular warp that disgorged Professor Zoom, the Reverse-Flash, opened its multicolored maw in a fairly depressed area, on the other end of town from Legion Headquarters. A few dreamheads, nodding off against the exterior walls of buildings, saw it, placed it among their other illusions, and went back to their mind-altering vapors. 

Eobard Thawne, who wore a yellow Flash uniform, had fifteen seconds to get across town, perform his errand, get back, and jump through the warp before it closed again. 

He wouldn't need all of them. 

-S-   


Dev-Em barely had time to register his adversary's form before he caromed off him, chest-to-chest, like a billiard ball on a felt table. 

Neither one had any weight in the vacuum, but Black Adam's mass, momentum, and strength were more than enough to hurl Dev-Em ass-over-teakettle into the void for a few miles. The impact hurt. Dev shook his head to clear it. Intellectually, he'd been prepared for a foe on his own power level. But it was never the same as the real experience. It was like fighting one of Darkseid's Daxamites again. 

Only this guy was neither Kryptonian or Daxamite. He was Black Adam, an unknown, magic-powered quantity. 

Dev wiped a string of blood from the corner of his mouth. He used flight power to halt his backwards progress and right himself. He leapt forward, and, within a fraction of a second, was within a hundred yards of Black Adam. 

The black-and-yellow-clad figure was standing there, impassive, one hand held up in a signal of halt. 

Hold, man,> sent Black Adam through a telepathic plug that one of Mordru's men had given him. (He was getting the hang of sending and receiving thought messages.) Before battle, tell me who you are and how are you called.> 

You've gotta be kidding me, mate,> said Dev, rushing forward and attempting a kick. 

Black Adam whirled and parried Dev's leg with a kick of his own, hard into the thigh muscle. Dev yelped soundlessly, his cry of pain translated as a static burst in the telepathic wave. 

It is a point of honor to let a foe know who his slayer will be,> said Adam, who smashed a hard fist into Dev's breadbasket. Gasping, Dev decided enough was enough, and whanged the sides of Black Adam's head with his fists, simultaneously. Adam's face registered pain, but he didn't scream. Dev tried to follow with a karate blow. Black Adam caught his wrist and began to crunch it painfully with his fingers. 

Holding Dev's other wrist with his free hand, the Egyptian stared coldly into the Kryptonian's eyes. I am Teth-Adam, called Mighty Adam and then Black Adam by the ancient wizard who gave me my powers, and I hail from the Black Land of Egypt. I was the slayer of a Pharaoh, six millenia past. I was exiled to the farthest star for my crime, but made my way back to Earth, where I made war against the wizard's latecoming allies, those who were called Marvels. Mine is the endurance of Shu, the strength of Hershef, the power of Amon, the wisdom of Zehuti, the speed of Anpu, and the courage of Menthu. Now you, man, tell me whom I will slay.> 

Dev brought his knee up into Adam's gut and managed to twist free. Name's Dev-Em. I'm from Krypton. I work for the U.P. Pleased to meet you.> 

Both hurled punches like meteors at each other's jaw, and hit with the impact of a hundred blockbusters. 

Dev saw white and black lights inside his skull, flung himself backwards, cursed himself for an amateur at having been taken so easily, and slapped the sides of his head to bring himself back around. 

A mile or two away, his super-vision picked up Black Adam. His movements showed that he was feeling the effects of Dev's blow, too. But he was getting over it, and he was heading forward, fast. 

Intercepted already, thought Dev. This is no damned good. No damned good at all. 

And as he streaked forward to confront Adam again, Dev took a split-second to check on his partners. 

A split-second later, he wished he hadn't.   


Supergirl had been rocketed backward in the starry void by the collision with Satan Girl. Unlike Black Adam, Satan Girl didn't bounce off her opponent or waste time with an introduction. She stayed with Kara, grappling, punching, kicking, and scratching. Kara was aghast. She'd been in tough fights before, even against Satan Girl herself, but the viciousness of her cloneling's attack was like that of a rabid leopard. 

The worst part of it was looking at Satan Girl's face. Her own face. Twisted in hatred and fury, brimming with viciousness and lust, void of mercy or love. Her Dark Side. 

With all of her world-staggering power. 

Kara would sooner have been grappling with a Kryptonian rattlesnake. 

The purple-suited girl was going for Supergirl's eyes. Desperately, Kara grabbed her foe's wrists, kneed her in the stomach as hard as she could, and head-butted her in the forehead. It felt like banging her head into a steel wall, but she could see Satan Girl wince with the pain for a second. But her foe was hardly finished. 

Satan Girl pulled one hand free and sent five hard punches into Kara's abs, nauseating her counterpart. Kara choked down bile and answered with a haymaker that knocked her rival off of her, thankfully, and into space. She saw tiny globules of red floating past her eyes. She wiped the side of her face with a hand and felt the scratches that the devil-girl had inflicted on her. 

Grimly, Kara hurled herself forward. Her enemy was already within plain sight. TearyoureyesoutandEATTHEM,> sent Satan Girl, not even conscious of her speech. RipyouapartandseveryourINTESTINES.> 

Shut up shut up SHUT UP,> snarled Kara, and smashed into her. It was like the collision of two starships, at the very least. 

But the queen of hate recovered quickly, and, hanging onto Kara's wrists, directed two beams of withering heat into Kara's open eyes. The heroine screamed in pain. She wasn't injured, but it did hurt. And the shock had temporarily impaired her vision. 

While she shoved, clawed, and struck blindly against Satan Girl, Supergirl felt her foe's powerful legs snaking about her midsection and her hands wrapping themselves around her throat.   
The low-level murmur from Satan Girl's telepathic plug was the equivalent of a groan of pleasure.   


Laurel Kent, in black bikini and red cape, rushed forward as fast as her flight ring would propel her and crashed her invulnerable body against Ar-Ual. The force staggered the Zoner woman, but didn't put her away. Well, thought Laurel, so she's tough. Come on, L.K., you didn't want to join the Legion just so you could fight Earth-level bad guys, did you? Time to show 'em you've recovered all the way from that Kryptonite bullet. 

She set her pretty face in a grim expression, took measure of her rival...a brown-haired beauty in an orange pullover shirt, purple pants, and black shoes, hardly a suitable space ensemble for anyone who wasn't Krypton-class...balled her fist, hauled off, and sent it crashing into Ar-Ual's jaw. 

Ar-Ual's head moved a bit, and that was it. 

Excuse me...did you just hit me?> said Ar-Ual, genuinely puzzled. 

For a second, Laurel's eyes widened in realization. Then she moved forward and sent a flurry of punches, knees, and kicks at the woman's slim frame. She pounded away as hard as she could, gasping with effort and unable to take anything into her lungs but reserve air. Globules of sweat dripped off her half-naked body. 

Ar-Ual was just standing there, patiently, her hands clasped calmly in front of her, waiting her out. Snarling in anger and desperation, Laurel even sent a knee into her foe's crotch, and hoped neither of the other two saw her. 

She might as well have been kneeing a tree. 

Both combatants realized the situation: though Laurel's body was mostly impervious to harm, she had neither the strength nor speed of her forebears. A Kryptonian can hurt another Kryptonian, but only when his or her blows are driven with the super-strength they acquire under a yellow sun. 

Laurel had only manifested the power of invulnerability. 

Ar-Ual had all the powers of a native-born Kryptonian. She could hurt her opponent. 

Before Laurel could dart away, Ar-Ual snagged her by one wrist. Then she drew back her other fist and buried it deep in Laurel's bare belly. A static-scream exploded through the telepathic wave-band. 

The villainess snapped Laurel's head back in a whiplash with an uppercut. She wrapped her legs about Laurel's pelvis to hold her in position, and began to rain blows down upon the teenager's face and body. 

For the first time, Ar-Ual's resentment at being schlepped here by Mordru abated a little. She was having fun. 

Barrel-rolling through space, Black Adam and Dev-Em battled, their limbs moving so quickly they seemed a blur even to beings with super-vision. Both were sustaining damage, but Dev was on the defensive more than he liked. This long-nosed, pointy-eared idiot in the black pajamas looked like he was enjoying himself. 

Man, know that you will be the first to die by the hand of Black Adam in this age,> sent Adam, chopping at Dev's throat. Then, may the next throat to feel this hand be that of Captain Marvel himself. I will commit your corpse to one of the bodies of great Ra about us.> 

One of Adam's hands was indeed clutching Dev's throat with surprising force. Still and all, thought Dev as his face reddened, it's not as bad as the girls have got. Time to quit jerking around here. 

He stared balefully into Black Adam's arrogant eyes. 

Then he blasted those eyes with a full-force heat-vision burst. At the same time, he smashed a knee into Adam's crotch. 

The static told him he'd done something right, for a change. 

Dev tore Adam's hand from his throat, clenched his own hands, and smashed them down as hard as he could on his foe's head. The angle wasn't quite right. The blow glanced more than it should have. But it would take care of him for a few seconds. 

Time enough for what he had to do. 

Laurel was getting pounded like meat under a tenderizer mallet. Dev was streaking towards her and Ar-Ual, but it would still be a second before he could get there. 

In that second, Laurel desperately raised her fist and smashed it into Ar-Ual's cheek, full-force. 

Ar-Ual got her second surprise of the fight. 

It hurt, and she was sent flying. 

Dev arrowed through their pocket of space and grabbed Laurel's arm. He didn't slacken speed. He had another passenger to pick up. 

Kara, in Satan Girl's ruthless grip, had almost panicked. It took seven klurkor strikes to the chest and a kick to the gut to loosen her rival's hands. The woman's purple-garbed legs were still squeezing her like a pair of steel construction beams. Supergirl was smashing away at the villainess's face with both hands, and now her foe was starting to return her blows. On the periphery of her consciousness, Kara sensed a steady stream of obscenities directed at her through the telepathic plug. She sent one of her elbows spiking down at Satan Girl's thigh, striking it hard enough to make her loosen her scissors. Satan Girl was pulling Kara's hair with one hand and clawing at her face with the other. 

Grimly, Kara said to hell with manners and bit the woman's hand. 

Satan Girl cried out in pain. You unmothered little BITCH of a matrix-being!> she yelled. Before she could get out too many more curses, five hard fingers went to a pressure point on her neck. 

They were on the end of Dev's hand. 

Grab hold,> he snapped to Kara. Satan Girl's body was going limp, but Kara could tell she'd shake it off within seconds. 

She kicked off Satan Girl's legs and grasped Dev's outstretched hand. 

Dev rocketed away from Satan Girl, carrying his two partners with him. The three villains would be attacking within instants, if they remained where they were. 

Join your speed with mine, Kara,> said Dev. It's our only chance.> 

They were headed for the warp. 

As they approached its event horizon, Black Adam flew up towards them, smiling grimly, his arms outstretched. Woman, know that I am Black Adam, slayer of Pharaoh,> he began. 

Kara stuck out her foot and kicked him in the face. 

Then they hit the warp. 

Seconds later, Satan Girl streaked in after them like a comet of hate. But she was too late. In warp-space, only an object within touching distance can be perceived with any reliability. 

Where are you?> she sent, her plug turned to maximum to pick up the slightest broadcast. WHERE ARE YOU?> 

Nothing. 

Swearing, Satan Girl left the warp, returning to normal space. There was no way of tracking her foes now, unless she went all the way to Earth. And Mordru had ordered her to stay on call for the time being. 

She faced Black Adam and Ar-Ual, hovering in space. They're gone,> she told them. 

The Egyptian smiled. We repelled them like the miserable curs they were. Mordru has chosen well for his soldiers, especially when he decreed I should stand beside you in this Ra-haunted void.> 

Ar-Ual, who had stood apart from the other two, said, Give it a rest, Earther. I saw Kara give you that kick in the chops. But we did kick their backsides for them, didn't we?> She permitted herself a half-smile. If she had to be doing this job, at least she was doing it right. 

Ahhhhhrrr, I don't want to repel her...I want to tear her throat out,> blasted Satan Girl. But not from the outside...to punch my hands through another part of her body and then reach up from the inside and do it, while roasting her guts with the heat of my eyes, and then to rip it out and display her viscera before her dying eyes, this is my wish...> 

Would you shut up? You're making me sick,> said Ar-Ual. She was beginning to loathe the woman. 

That's enough, both of you,> said Black Adam. We performed well our duty for our new chieftain. Now shall we return to his presence. I doubt our foes will return anytime soon.> 

Satan Girl brought herself closer to Black Adam, and he didn't know whether to back away or stand fast. The battle has excited me, warrior. I find my senses are heightened...have you ever contemplated mating in space before?> 

Great Rao,> groaned Ar-Ual, in disgust. 

Black Adam looked at her for another second, and then turned away. We're still on the job,> he said, and sent himself towards Zerox. 

In another second, Ar-Ual and Satan Girl followed. 

Ar-Ual didn't even try to hide her smile. 

-S- 

To break into Legion headquarters was no simple thing. From the outside it looked like an easy place to crack, as open as it seemed to be. But that was misleading. 

For one thing, there were the reinforced Intertron outer walls. Superboy and Mon-El could break through them, but it would take several blows at that, and they'd probably bruise their knuckles. Validus might manage it, but, thus far, he hadn't tried. 

For another, the spaces between the inner and outer walls were pulsing with energy-barriers. Even phantoms from Bgztl, Phantom Girl's world, would be rendered senseless if they tried unauthorized entry. The levels of the energies could be adjusted to the point where they could become quite lethal, even to Validus. 

For a third, the entire area could be surrounded by a force-field when sensors detected penetration by an intruder. A secondary field could lock around the intruder, immobilizing him in an invisible booth of solidified power. 

For a fourth, the building was covered with visual, temperature, and sonic scanners maintained by Computo, which perceived any penetration within a fraction of a second and acted accordingly. 

For a fifth, there were always Legionnaires on duty, and they didn't take kindly to anyone who barged in without authorization. Thus, few people under the power level of the Fatal Five had ever attempted it. 

An intruder would have to be able to vibrate through the outer wall, move fast enough to dodge the various pulses of energy within the walls, outrun the scanners and Computo's responses, and strike before the Legionnaires knew what was happening. 

That may be why Brainiac 5, who had been watching monitors trained to various hot spots in the known galaxy, found himself spun around like a whirligig and caroming off a wall. It didn't hurt, but even he was at a loss for an explanation. Element Lad and Colossal Boy rushed over to help him up. 

"Querl, what happened?" asked El Lad. "You looked like you had a spasm." 

"He looked like he had St. Vitus's Dance," said Gim. "What gives, Brainy?" 

"I don't--" started Brainy, and then his hands went to his waist as he realized a slight change in weight. Normal men might not have caught it so quickly. Brainiac did, and he knew. 

The yellow force-field belt was no longer around his waist. 

"We're under attack," he shouted. "Computo, shields!" 

Actually, he was wrong. The attack was already over. Professor Zoom, Brainiac's belt grasped tightly in his right hand, consulted a video wrist-map strapped to his left arm. He made it back to the space-warp with three seconds to spare, leaped through, and burned two long grooves in the marble floor of Mordru's receiving room before he skidded to a halt. 

Mordru was sitting on his throne, as ever, not giving a thing away by his expression. 

Zoom smiled and handed the belt over. He'd been snatched out of the time stream just as he was headed back to the blasted 20th Century. This time, he was going to give that snooty Iris West the ultimatum: warm his bed, or wind up dead. Of course, the messenger and Mordru had informed him that, if he'd refused their offer, he'd be turned into the world's fastest ghost. So he chose the path of discretion--for the moment. 

Mordru fastened the belt around his waist, expanding it a bit. Then he pressed a control button, and the nigh-impenetrable field of force surrounded him. It lifted him out of the throne a couple of inches. 

"You have performed your mission," stated Mordru. 

Zoom stood with his arms folded. "Great, Big M. Now, can I go back to my own century?" 

"No," said Mordru. 

Zoom smashed his hands together at multi-Mach speed. "That's just great," he muttered. 

"What?" asked Mordru, snapping his head up to look at Zoom. 

The speedster plastered a smile onto his face, very quickly. "I said...that's just GREAT!"   


Dev, Kara, and Laurel had exited the warp shortly after their entry into it. Dev knew of a passageway into a parallel universe (like branch lines joining the main trunk, thought Kara) with an Earthlike planet not far from the aperture. The chances of being trailed there by the trio of enemies was next to nil. 

And Laurel was hurt. 

Moving at hyperspeed, the threesome crossed the void of space, entered the atmosphere of the target world, decelerated with air friction turning them into a trio of fire-auraed meteors, and splashed down in a sea near a small island to negate the burn. By the time Dev and Kara hauled themselves and Laurel out of the water, their surface temperatures presented no fire hazard. 

The island was less than a mile in circumference, but, thankfully, had a decent grass-covered surface upon which they could set Laurel. She was still awake, but a bit groggy. Her left eye was sporting a decent-sized bruise underneath it, and the exposed parts of her body (which, given her scanty suit, was quite a lot) bore a goodly number of red and dark blue marks. 

Kara cradled Laurel's head in her lap and X-rayed her for damage. "No concussion," she reported. "Laurel, talk to me." 

"I'm all right," sighed Laurel. "Well, mostly. I'm, like, really sorry, guys. I guess I blew it for you." 

Dev, standing over her, bent down closer. "You did fine, kid. Your power just isn't the aggressive kind, is all. We didn't know what kind of reception we'd get from Mordru. And I brought us in there undermanned." 

"Or underwomanned," said Kara. "But don't blame yourself, Dev. We thought three of us would be enough to take on Satan Girl. Mordru was just smart enough to double-think us, is all." 

Laurel sat up, felt around in her mouth with her hand, and decided all her teeth were still in the same places. But her fingers came out with a bit of blood on them. She spit on the ground, trying to get the taste out. 

Kara sighed. "What do I look like, Dev?" 

He touched her face. "Abso marvelous, Kara. Bit of a nasty scratch on your left cheek there, and your hair's all messed. You've gone a few rounds, but you'll be okay." 

She smiled and held his wrist to keep him from pulling his hand away too quickly. "Thanks. I can tell by the way my ribs feel that I'm going to feel like a hockey player after the big game when I get up tomorrow. Don't expect me to explain hockey. You've got a few bungs, too, but looks like you came out all right." 

He tousled her hair for a moment. Laurel grinned, but didn't say anything. 

"So what do we do now?" asked Kara. 

"Guess we go back home, make our report, and figure a better plan," said Dev. "We tried the soldier's way this time. Next time, we'll try the spy's way. I'm more comfortable with that, anyway." 

Laurel drew up her knees and leaned on them. "Guess I'll be left Earthside, then. I'm not much help in a thing like this." 

Kara grabbed her bare shoulder. "Stop it, Laurel. You did about as well as anybody out there, and Dev is right...we should find a way of infiltration, not confrontation. You'll be fine." 

Dev exhaled. "How was it for you, Kara?" 

She looked at him. "Scary. I can't even stand looking at her. But I've got to take her down."   
She paused. "And the longer I wait, the more chances she gets to kill somebody." 

Dev-Em took Laurel's hand and pulled her up. "Feel good enough to travel, darling?" 

Laurel brushed her hair back with her hand. "Yeah. Just remind me to get a full-body suit when we get there. Either that, or I'll dye myself blue to match the bruises." 

"All right, then," said Dev. He extended his hands to the women. They took them, and the three left the planet's surface in tandem. 

An observer from below would have lost their image in two seconds. 

-S- 

Satan Girl touched down at a marketplace on Zerox. A brown-cloaked fruit merchant was haggling with a well-dressed buyer over the price of banyo. They didn't even notice her presence until she grabbed the merchant's shoulder. He looked up at her with surprise...and then terror. 

She reached her hand into one of his fruit bins, selected a banyo, and brought it up to her mouth. She took a bite, chewed the pulpy-sweet meat of it. "Very good," she said, juice running from the side of her mouth. "Really, you should get full price for these." 

Then she turned her heat-vision on the man. 

The buyer, to his dying day, never forgot what it looked like to see a human being vaporized in stages, starting at the head and working down to the feet. It was done within three seconds. Only a burnt spot on the ground and a cloud of evil-smelling steam remained. 

The buyer fell on his hands and knees and vomited. 

The entire marketplace was silent with shock. 

Satan Girl regarded the burned spot for another moment. "Always wanted to know what it'd be like to do that," she said, nonchalantly. 

Then she leaped into the air again as the throng below her erupted in screams of horror and rage. 

She smiled. Now, she actually felt she could get through the rest of the day.   


To be continued... 


	5. Chapter 5

hells5a Supergirl and the Legion of Super-Heroes   
Hellsister: Part 5   
by DarkMark 

The fact that everyone on Saturn's moon of Titan has telepathic abilities didn't seem to make much difference. When the Fatal Five attack, they don't much give a darn whether you know what they're going to do or not. 

The Emerald Empress's mystic, floating eye phased them in just outside of the presidential palace. It's been a long time since Titan faced outside invasion, but they still kept a crack regiment of guards on the premises. Validus scooped up a double handful of them and crushed them like jelly doughnuts. Mano took a ray-blast on his palm, his hand's disintegrator disk eating it up like candy. Then he walked up the beam of force and destroyed the weapon, and the unfortunate soldier who wielded it. 

The Persuader's atomic axe sheared through the bodies of two defenders like a scythe, armor and all. The Empress, less bloodthirsty than her fellows, simply blasted a couple of war-machines out of the way. 

Tharok, human and robot arms folded, surveyed the carnage. Then he spoke through a throat mike amplifier to the rest of the defenders. 

"Had enough? Or do we have to go through the rest of you?" 

Some of the men threw themselves in the villains' path as they advanced into the building. A lucky few were shoved out of the way. The Empress's eye turned another into a lizard. Validus just crushed a couple uncaringly underfoot, and tried to tear a bigger doorway into the palace. "You stay here," ordered Tharok. 

Compliantly, Validus sighed and sat down against the outside wall, buckling it in at several points and causing several secretaries and officials to run into the halls, screaming about construction flaws. 

Tharok, Mano, the Persuader and the Empress made their way inside the building. Several interior guards showed up, weapons drawn. "Gently, Empress," said Tharok. 

She telepathed a command to the Emerald Eye of Ekron. It spewed forth a burst of green energy that pushed the guardsmen against a wall and held them there, immobile. "Is that good enough?" she asked. Tharok said nothing, but they proceeded on. 

President Arda Foran was ready for them when they smashed through her inner door. She had done a quick mind-probe on each of them. Gray-haired and red-suited, she stood up from her desk, and motioned her three guards to put down their weapons. "I know who you are," she said, quietly. "You can take me, if you wish, but please spare these men." 

Tharok pointed to one of the guards, and nodded to Mano. "Shake hands with him," he said. 

"No!" shouted Foran. "No, that's not necessary. I surrender. Please cease hostilities. We simply have no force on this planet sufficient to resist you." 

Mano held his smoking hand up, palm first. "What do you say, Big Papa?" 

"I say, I accept your surrender," said Tharok. "You can put your glove back on, Mano." 

Arda Foran resisted her fears and looked the half-man-half-robot straight in the eyes...both the one that was human, and the one that was an optic sensing device. "I sensed in your minds that you don't have any real concern with Titan. You're only doing this for another power...Mordru." 

Tharok said nothing. 

The Persuader said, "Stop reading our minds or I'll chop you in half." 

"Persuader, that will be enough," said Tharok, not looking at him. "We merely wish the lady to broadcast a message of surrender to her people, and give us lodging in the palace for right now. She's our hostage for the moment." 

Arda Foran sighed. "I sent an alarm to the Legion of Super-Heroes before you broke in." 

Tharok put his unnerving face only six inches away from hers. "I was counting on it," he said.   


Brainiac 5 had gotten one of his spare force-field belts and buckled it about his midsection. He'd been talking almost nonstop to Colossal Boy on the way to and back from his room. 

"Speed, that's the only way you could break in here, besides a pinpoint warp, and we have inhibitor fields that discourage that, Gim," he rattled. "Has to be somebody or something incredibly fast, at least as fast as Mon, Kal, Kara, or Jo, perhaps faster. Has anyone talked to Don and Dawn Allen? They might be repowered, they might be Flashes again, they might be controlled..." 

"Oy gevalt," said Colossal Boy, putting his hands to his ears. "Brainy, Brainy, Brainy, would you please do me a slow-down? You may have a twelfth-level mind, but I only have first-level ears." 

"Sorry, sorry," said Brainiac. "When I get nerved, I talk a lot, you know that. Wait a minute. Slow-down, slow down. Gim, you're inspired, you know that?" 

"I--" began Gim. 

"Computo!" called Brainiac. "Instructions." 

"Functioning," responded the voice of their computer system, from a wall speaker above their heads. 

"Monitor room holo playback, twenty minutes previous to ten minutes previous. Slowed down, Computo, to maximum level. Review. Inform me of unidentified intruder images. Out." 

"Processing," Computo said. 

"I catch," said Gim Allon, as the doors hissed open between them and the main meeting room. "Computo can catch what we couldn't see, on a slow-mo playback. Maybe." 

"Maybe," echoed Brainiac. 

Colossal Boy was first across the threshhold. "Hey, Jan," he called to Element Lad, standing at the monitor bank with White Witch. "Two amazing things. First, Brainy may have found a way to find out who just broke in and stole his belt. Second, I just heard the first bit of conversation from Brainy that was only one word long." 

Element Lad, Jan Arrah, looked tired and irritated. "Yeah, yeah, just great. And the president of Titan's being held hostage by the Fatal Five." 

"Titan?" said Colossal Boy. "That's in our solar system. If Mordru's trying to lure us off-planet, that's not too far off it." 

"With those guys, it doesn't have to be far," said Jan. "We have to commit major forces to getting them out, and it's Saturn Girl's homeworld to boot. He knows we can't ignore it. Blast." He slapped the plastic desktop he was leaning against. "Get the others in here. Heard from Kara, Dev, and Laurel yet?" 

Gim called out, "Computo, general summons." The computer sent a chime pulse through the building. It would be echoed in the flight-rings of the Legionnaires who were not at Headquarters but still on duty. 

Brainiac 5 looked at White Witch. "Mysa, any idea of what Mordru's objective could be on Earth yet?" 

The white-haired, white-clad, antennaed woman shook her head. "Not yet. There could be undetected power objects here, but I'm not familiar enough with Earth history to tell. I'm interfacing with the Sorceror's Database through Computo. Nothing conclusive yet." 

The green-skinned youth wrinkled his nose. "Sorcery. With my computer." 

Element Lad snapped a look at him. "You've got a better idea?" 

Brainiac started to say something. Gim stepped in front of him. "Hold it, guys. It's getting too intense here. Down the tension level a few drops, Jan. You could use an hour of quicksleep. Nu?" 

Jan Arrah sighed, and said nothing. "Right, sorry, Brainy. I'm on edge, I know it. Cos had to be pulled back from vacation, Kara had to be sent for, nobody's happy, and this right after we lost Kid Psycho and Wildfire. Great One, I wish sometimes there was more than one hero team aound here. Besides the Lallorians, the Wanderers, et cetera. Sorry." 

Mysa Nal, the White Witch, lay her hands on Jan's bowed shoulders. She whispered several words in her native tongue. 

Two seconds later, Element Lad's posture straightened and his head came up. He looked surprised, stretched his arms, flexed his biceps. "Mysa, I feel great. What spell did you use?" 

"It's kind of an upper," she admitted. "I can't do it for you very often, or your sleep-cycles would get really blonked." 

Blok and Dawnstar were entering as they spoke. Brainiac 5 noted a light activated under Kara's symbol on the row of members' monitors. 

"They're coming back in," he said. "Maybe they can help us make some sense of this, after all." 

"Or maybe somebody got Kara's flight ring," said Colossal Boy, grimly. 

Dawnstar muttered something that only Blok caught. 

"Too much to hope for," she said.   


Kara, Dev, and Laurel joined the group within a half hour. Mon-El, Tellus, Polar Boy, Magnetic Kid, Dream Girl, Chameleon Boy, Saturn Girl, Lightning Lad, the mystery woman called Sensor Girl, and one Reservist were on hand. The Reservist was Power Boy, aka Jed Rikane, and he had insisted on being there. When Laurel stepped through the doorway, he raced from his seat to intercept her. 

"Laurel, baby, what's happened to you?" he blurted. "What did they let you get into? Who did this?" 

"I ran into a rough Kryptonian, Jed," sighed Laurel. "Good to see you, too." She shook hands with him. Both of them had been classmates at the Legion Academy and members of the Reserve together, and they were longtime friends. Power Boy was a grayish-purple-skinned youth in a yellow-and-blue outfit with red trim. He could increase his molecular density to give him super-strength and super-durability. 

Kara was introduced to the newbies. The water-breathing telepath Tellus was big, bulky, and reminded her of Blok, but he was polite and friendly. His handshake was a tad on the slimy side, but she'd had worse. Sensor Girl concealed her identity from the other Legionnaires in a full-body red-and-white outfit that covered her entirely, except for her blonde hair. She gave Supergirl a slight bow and, in a synthesized voice, asked her not to use her x-ray vision to detect her identity. 

"Heavens, no," said Kara, taken aback a little. "I've got better manners than that. As long as you're cleared by the Legion." 

I'll vouch for her, Kara,> sent Saturn Girl. I know who she really is.> 

From your brain to Rao's,> replied Kara. She thought she recognized Sensor Girl's stance, but decided not to try and play Nancy Drew just then. No hero appreciated an identity snooper. 

"Seems you can't stay away from us for long, Dev," smiled Dream Girl, draping her bathing-suited body over a white plastoid seat. "The Dark Circle thing, and now this." 

Dev gave her a grim smile. "If they'd mass-cloned me like they wanted to, Nura, I probably wouldn't have stayed away from anyone very long. There'd've been too many of me. Good to see you, too." Several of the Legionnaires were turned off by Dev's manner, but he and Dream Girl had always gotten along fine. 

Element Lad gavelled the table. "Hate to remind you, people, but we're still at crisis status. For those who haven't heard, the Fatal Five have struck at Titan. Here's what we know." He reported the incident. Saturn Girl was tight-lipped as she listened, and Lightning Lad put his hand on her shoulder. 

"Before we hit tactics and team assignment, let's hear from Kara, Dev, and Laurel," said Jan, at the end of his short briefing. 

"He's sprung a few surprises this time," said Dev. "Took a tip from you blokes. You recruited Kara and Kal from the past. He's done the same thing. Help me out on the specifics, you two." 

"When we emerged from the warp, we ran into Satan Girl, Black Adam, and Ar-Ual. The last two are 20th Century villains, both Krypton-class. Ar-Ual is a Zoner." 

"One of the few that wasn't documented when the mass release went into effect," put in Laurel, hugging a knee. "Here's what I know of her from research--help me out if I blow a point, Kara. Ar-Ual was the only one present when an automated spacecraft landed on Krypton a few years before the Destruction. The ship had a message in Kryptonese for whomever found it. It contained apparatus for synthesizing food from common objects for use in times of famine. But Ar-Ual figurd that she could patent the process and make a mint for herself with it. A couple of police showed up to spoil things. She blew up the ship, rather than let them have it. But the recorded message was unharmed, and the cops took her into custody for destruction of valuable property. Since they were able to determine the craft was worth billions of credits, thanks to the scientific information that was lost, she got a sentence of fifty years." 

"Not the most violent offender in the Zone, but pretty vindictive, nonetheless," added Kara. Out of the corner of her eye, she saw Dawnstar glancing at her, and didn't like the character of the glance. 

"Naturally, she survived the Destruction by being in the Zone," Laurel continued. "Later, a rift was opened in it by accident, and she got Out. She impersonated Wonder Woman and made a big play for Superman I. I think her intent was to have him marry her, then catch him off-guard and kill him. He found her out, saved Wonder Woman, and sent her back to the Zone. When her sentence was up, the Rokynians couldn't find her to release her. The other Zoners claimed she'd just disappeared.. Have I got it right, mostly, Kara?" 

"Substantially, Laurel," said Kara. "Well, Black Adam. I'm 'lucky' enough--yeah, right--to have met him before. He's from a parallel Earth we called Earth-S, which stands for 'Shazam'. That's the name of an Egyptian wizard who gave powers to the Marvel Family, that Earth's greatest heroes. All three of them are basically on a power footing with Kryptonians and Daxamites. I ran into Black Adam on the case in which I first met two of those heroes, Captain Marvel and Mary Marvel." 

"Mary Marvel?" Dream Girl wrinkled her nose. "Isn't that like saying 'Susie Super' or something?" 

"Knock it, Nura," warned Laurel. 

"It's her choice," said Kara. "She didn't want to be known as 'Marvel Girl', she told me she thought that'd be a really dumb name. Anyway, here's what I've heard: about 5,000 years before our time, and 6,000 before yours, this wizard Shazam wanted to pass on his powers to a successor. So he chose this guy called Teth-Adam, hit him with a magic lightning bolt, and, bang, instant superhero. He gave him a black and yellow costume, and called him Mighty Adam. 

"But it turned out he'd chosen wrong. 

"All that power went right to Teth-Adam's head. He killed the ruling Pharaoh of the time and tried to take his place. Shazam turned up, found out the Pharoah wasn't too far gone for his magic, and just barely restored him to life...no interrupted dynasties. He couldn't take the powers back from Teth-Adam, but he could teleport him out to the farthest reaches of their universe. And he did. Just before he sent him away, Shazam renamed him Black Adam, and the guy swore he'd come back someday and get revenge. 

"By the time he came back, it was just after World War II on their Earth, and the Marvel Family had been operating for some years. Even three-on-one, they couldn't do much against him. But they finally got to him by a trick, and he reverted to his mortal form and crumbled into 5000-year-old dust." 

Blok rumbled, "What stratagem did they use, Supergirl?" 

Kara looked up at the teenager of stone. "They got him to say 'Shazam', Blok. That's a signal word all of them except Captain Marvel, Jr. use to change identities. A bolt of magic force, joined to an electric charge, strikes them when they say it, and they go from super-beings to regular humans. Their 'magic lightning bolt'." 

"What word does the Junior one say?" asked Dream Girl. 

"Captain Marvel," said Kara. 

"No, I mean Junior," said Dream Girl. "What word does he say." 

"Captain Marvel," Kara repeated. 

Dream Girl swung her legs off the side of the chair and looked miffed. "Listen, Kara Zor-El, quit being such a smart-ass with me. I asked you very nicely, just trying to make conversation, what word that Junior kid uses to change, not his father, and here you are treating me like the nether-end of a gargantabeast--" 

"I don't think Captain Marvel is Junior's father," said Brainiac 5. 

"Well, then, why do they call him Junior, hmmm?" asked Dream Girl, standing up and facing him with her fists on her hips. Laurel was hiding her mouth behind her clamped hand and was turning red from trying to hold the giggles back, which went well with her blue bruises. 

Kara grinned. Dream Girl was an easy mark. "I could do this Abbott and Costello number for a lot longer, Nura--don't ask who Abbott and Costello were--but I'll be merciful. Junior says the words 'Captain Marvel' to change, because his powers were passed on by way of Cap. He and Junior aren't related by blood. Cap and Mary are, they're brother and sister. And I really want to thank you, because after what we've been through, I can use a laugh anywhere I can find it!" 

Dream Girl pouted. "So I'm not up on ancient history. Ought to ask you how much you know about Orando. See if I give you any personal prophecies." 

White Witch said, "Sister, shut up. Continue, Kara." 

"You said he was turned into dust," said Mon-El. "Obviously, Mordru found a way of bringing him back to life." 

"Not Mordru, another one of Captain Marvel's enemies," said Kara. "After that, he could change back and forth without aging to death. Later on, a Martian sorceror used Black Adam and one of Superman's old villains as catspaws in a plot to destroy our Earths. He hypnotized Superman and Cap into fighting each other, and when Mary and I met, we pretty much had the ball all to ourselves. She and I took care of the bad guys, and Kal and Cap saved the two Earths. Black Adam was imprisoned again, but you know how those things go." 

Mon-El shifted in his seat, rubbing his jaw with his knuckles. "I've met the Marvels, too, Kara. I was there at the Crisis with you." 

"And with Wildfire!" snapped Dawnstar. 

Everyone in the room turned to look at her. The Indian heroine's gaze was fixed only on Supergirl. And Kara couldn't believe the rage in it. 

"Dawny, what--" said Kara, knowing even as she said it, finally, what the girl's anger stemmed from. 

"He died saving you!" Dawnstar spat. "I loved him, and if you hadn't been in trouble, he wouldn't have had to save you--he wouldn't have had to die!" 

Element Lad wheeled on her. "Dawny, stop it. You're getting near a court-martial offense." 

"No, let her talk," said Kara, holding up a hand towards him. "This has got to come out somewhere down the line. It's best it happen now. Go ahead, Dawny. Let it all out." 

The other Legionnaires were silent as a funeral congregation, even Dream Girl, who had a knuckle stuffed in her mouth. Unconsciously, Dev moved behind Kara in a protective gesture. Dawnstar couldn't hurt her, but he'd be there if needed to set things to order. 

Laurel didn't miss it. 

"What else is there to say?" asked the Native American from space. She spread her hands. "May the Great Spirit blast the Crisis from memory. They acted as though you were the hero in that thing, Kara. It was Wildfire, my Drake, who was the hero. He saved your life. He took the Anti-Monitor's head into himself, and sacrificed himself to destroy the monster. And now he has burned for a thousand years in the heart of a sun that he created...he is gone..." She lowered her head till it was level with the table, and did not speak for a moment. "I regret my conduct, o' brothers and sisters of the Legion. But ask me not to love this woman." 

Brainiac 5 was very cold and icy, and Kara, flashing on it, decided she had never seen him quite so dangerous before. Rao's light, he still loves me, she realized. What if he has a breakdown again, and goes psycho like in that Omega case they told me about? 

Before he spoke, Saturn Girl sent a quick burst of telepathy into Kara's brain. It's not just anger on Dawny's part, Kara. It's guilt. She fell for a guy named Jhodan not long before the Crisis. Now she sees this as punishment for not keeping faith.> 

You read her mind?> thought Supergirl, aghast. 

I didn't have to,> replied Imra. 

"Better take it easy, Brainy," said Element Lad, half-rising from his seat. He made a quick gesture to Mon-El, who picked it up and was ready to roll if needed. 

Brainiac 5 was looking straight at Dawnstar, pointing a green finger at her. "I suggest you give that advice to our younger Legionnaire here, Jan. Young lady, have you heard that Kara here almost died, in battle with the Anti-Monitor? That her very guts were hanging out of her body during that battle? A battle she joined to save the life of the first Superman? Yes, or no?"   
  
Dawnstar said, "Yes, Querl, but..." 

"And are you aware that it was this woman, and another Supergirl from an unknown Earth, who tore the enemy's body apart, thus saving the entire contingent of heroes, including our friend Mon-El, not to mention uncounted universes, from utter destruction?" 

"Yes, but she did not save him!" 

"He did not ask her to save him," said Brainiac 5. "He was saving her, and everyone involved in the Crisis. He did so without a moment's hesitation. I have spoken to witnesses of that battle. Neither she, nor the other Supergirl, was capable of stopping Wildfire from what he did. And he was the only one of us who could have done it. Without this woman, and her heroic deeds in the face of certain death, none of us would have been alive to bear witness to what he did. I tell you, girl, you owe this woman your very life." He slammed the table, hard, with his open palm as he said the last word. Everyone was waiting to see what Dawnstar would say. She said nothing. 

Brainy turned to Kara. "You know how I felt about you...how I feel about you. I think, deep down inside of me, I always knew that it was hopeless. I know history, Kara, at least that which has survived. Don't ask me to tell you more, because it might not get quite forgotten when you go back to your home time. But I'm not ashamed of it. I've got a 12th-level brain, but I'm glad I'm stupid in some matters. I'm glad I was stupid enough to love you." 

Kara choked back tears. Oh, Brainy, if only...but I don't... 

After a pause, Dev-Em said, "Well said, Brainy. And now, if nobody minds, we've got a little business about Tharok's Quintuplets and that crazy bitch in purple to take care of." 

"Just a minute," said Element Lad. "If you please, Dev, I'm still acting leader here. We've been making jokes, backbiting, giving angry speeches and defenses...and none of it matters a cursed thing. We're just trying to get our minds off two things. 

"One: we've got to deal with the two toughest menaces we've ever faced, this side of Darkseid. And God only knows what else, because I don't think Mordru will leave it just there. 

"Two: a lot of us have died in action. In battles just like the ones we're about to undertake. You know, Garth." He turned to Lightning Lad. "For all intents and purposes, you died. Then there was Ferro Lad. Lyle Norg, the first Invisible Kid. Chemical King. Karate Kid. Kid Psycho. And Wildfire. Even Luornu...there's a reason why we don't call her Triplicate Girl anymore, Dawny. And from what I can tell, it looked for a while there, back in the Crisis, like we'd be adding Supergirl's name to that list. 

"You think you know something about having someone die on you, Dawny?" Element Lad fixed her with a hard look, and she didn't dare look away. "Ask Kara about it. She had all of Argo City, everybody she knew for fifteen years, die on her. Ask me about it. I've had a whole planet die on me. Or maybe you'd like to ask Dev, here, about Krypton? Would you like him to tell you about it, Dawny?" 

"No," she said, in a small voice. Then she said, "I have apologized--" 

"I don't care about your apologies," he shouted. "To hell with your apologies. Listen well to me, Dawnstar, because you'd cursed well better be able to give me the right answer once I'm done. And I don't want to hear you or anyone else in this room before I am. All right? Good. 

"Every one of us makes a choice, when he or she enters this hall and is allowed membership--no, before that, when you're just trying for membership--that puts him or her right on the edge of death every time he or she is called up for a mission. That's not an abstract, as I've just pointed out. The Legion has had the highest casualty rate of almost any superheroic group in history, so far. The ancient Doom Patrol beat us proportionately, but not in actual numbers. We fight, and we die, because we're the only ones in the known universe who can do it. If we don't, we lose every world we love to possible tyranny or destruction. You know that. You've been around here long enough to know it. 

"And let me point out to you, Dawny, that you came to us as an applicant, and we accepted you. You fell in love with a fellow Legionnaire, our Wildfire, and he died on you. Imra." Jan turned to Saturn Girl. "What did you feel like the day Lightning Lad died?"   
  
"Like someone had ripped me up and down my torso with a knife in deep space," said Imra Ardeen, quietly. 

"So why didn't you quit?" asked Element Lad. "Why did you stay with it? Why didn't you even step down from being our leader?" 

She gently held onto Garth's hand as she spoke. "Because the Legion needed me, and the worlds needed the Legion," she said. "And I needed the Legion, too. More then than ever before." 

Element Lad tented his fingers, pausing before he spoke to Dawnstar. "Now, Dawny, I've got me a problem here. It's pretty tough. Maybe you could help me out? I've got a girl who's been solid as a rock before. We could all depend on her. And that's how the Legion survives, by interdependence. But now, she's forgotten some of that. Maybe even getting insubordinate. She's got a big problem, and maybe she has a right to one. But she's letting that big problem get in the way of letting her see the big picture. So...I've got a really tough decision to make, Dawny. 

"I could keep her out of this one. Maybe even court-martial her. Then, no problems for her with the Legion, and none for me with her. But we lose her power. Understand? 

"Or I could give her a chance to make good again. And only a chance. If she can be a bigger woman than she's ever allowed herself to be before. If she can swallow that big, bitter egg inside her for awhile, and act like a Legionnaire one more time. It might be the last time any one of us gets to act like a Legionnaire, Dawny. Because one of Tharok's good buddies killed a Legionnaire, some years ago. And Mordru hasn't yet, but not because he hasn't been trying. This might be the last mission for that Legionnaire, Dawny. Or maybe for someone else. And I certainly wouldn't want that last mission for someone else to be because the other Legionnaire wasn't doing her cursedest to perform--even when it meant saving the life of a person she hates the most. 

"I leave it in your hands. What should I do?" 

All eyes were on Dawnstar. 

She drew a deep breath, her head rising, at last, proudly, and the great white wings on her back rising to accompany it. Dawnstar wiped the beginning of a tear away from the corner of one eye. 

"I will do my best on this mission," she said. "To prove so, I wish to accompany Supergirl." 

Element Lad said, "I haven't said that you can accompany her yet. They may not want you." 

Kara put out her hand. "Hold, Jan. It's all right. If it'll help heal some of her bitterness--Rao knows how I'd feel, in her place--I'll be more than happy to welcome her on our mission." 

Dev's eyes widened. "All due respect, Kara, this is a spy mission. I'm commanding it. It'd be next to impossible to conceal a woman with wings." 

Laurel put in, "She doesn't have to join us on-planet. We could use somebody who could navigate us to a back-door warp to get into Zerox." 

Dawnstar looked at them hopefully. 

Finally, Element Lad said, "I want Chameleon Boy to go along with you. He's the head of the Espionage Squad." 

"This is my billet," said Dev, indignantly. 

"And this is my command," said Jan, flatly. "Take it, or go solo for the UPIC." 

Dev clapped his hands together mirthlessly. "All right, commander. Rao knows, he'll probably be useful. But I'm still point on this." 

"We all are, Dev," said Kara. Then she went over to Dawnstar. "Dawny...I'm sorry." 

Dawnstar hugged Kara and broke down crying. 

Embracing her, Supergirl caught something on the edge of her hearing and sharpened it with her super-power. It was muffled, and she was the only other one who could hear it, unless Mon-El was tuned in. 

But Dawnstar wasn't the only one shedding tears. 

Behind her mask, Sensor Girl was crying, too. 

-S- 

On Zerox, another Supergirl sprawled nude in bed with Mordru. 

She had put her incredible body to a purpose that Kara had never undertaken, and her efforts in that direction were, Mordru judged, as impressive as her other abilities. Even he, the sorceror with the power of a million mages, was a bit spent, and very satisfied. 

It was a matter of no small pride to him that he had made her climax twice. 

"If only you would let me conquer for you, as well as I have conquered..." 

"Conquered?" Despite it all, Mordru turned a baleful eye on her, and grasped her slim, tanned arm with a hand that was burning with cold white fire. 

She caught herself. "A mere slip of the tongue, Lord Mordru. You know how impetuous my nature is, how strong my fires burn. I meant, as I have been conquered by your great...eh...talents." Satan Girl smiled and stroked him. Mordru responded as all men respond, and the fire left his hand to be replaced by another sort of flame-source. 

"The pieces are not all set into play yet," he said to her, putting a mighty arm about her naked back. "When they are, my forward thrust will begin at the Earthworld. Their many knights must be lured to other corners of the board first." 

"Yes, the conquering thrust," said Satan Girl, one bare, beautiful leg now swung over his own. "But what of--her?" She paused, not giving him more. 

He said, "You shall have her. I will see to it." 

"To slay with my own hands?" she breathed, eyes half-closed in passion. "To dismember and eviscerate and, finally, when I deign, to murder?" 

"With your own hands, you shall have her." 

"When?" she breathed, her hands on his chest. "When shall this be?" 

He shrugged. "Should all go on schedule, possibly within a week. We shall see." 

Before he could say anything more, she grasped him with her body and raised him from the bed. She turned her head and burned a hole through the outer wall, scattering its rocks and masonry with her mighty breath. Then, entwined with Mordru, she levitated them through the opening, and, to the astonished gazes of guardsmen, villains, and innocent bystanders below, soared with him towards the heavens. 

"Take me!" she roared. "Take me among the stars!" 

He did. 

to be continued... 


	6. Chapter 6

hells6a Supergirl and the Legion of Super-Heroes   
Hellsister: Part 6   
by DarkMark 

Karl Krellik was unable to credit his eyes. A few moments ago, he had been running down the steps of Clive Arno's museum at hyper-speed. Then a big hole in the very air before him had opened up, and he tumbled headlong through it, right into wherever he was at the moment. 

"Wherever" seemed to be in the throne room of some big, bearded bozo in a pointy hat. An orange-skinned dude stood beside him, arms folded, looking like the chief screw at a max security prison. 

If that was the case, Krellik was about to show him what the score was. The Coin of Loki gave him that kind of power. 

"Welcome, Karl Krellik," said Mordru. "My name is Mordru. You have been brought to my world to serve in my Strike Force, in a position of honor." 

Krellik's eyes narrowed. "How in hell did you know who I am? And who are you, and who's this kumquat beside you?" 

The Messenger didn't much like that, but Mordru stayed him with a short gesture. "I am Mordru, sorceror, ruler of Zerox, soon to be master of all worlds," he said. "This is my Messenger. He comes from your time, and has provided me with data on beings such as yourself. Agree to serve me, and your reward will be great, both in terms of wealth and power. Refuse, and I will destroy you." Mordru waited for Krellik's response. 

The green-suited, bald villain from the 20th century snarled. The coin he had discovered in that ruin of the city of gods gave him magical super-strength, super-speed, and mystic power enough to challenge Superman, though Clive Arno had beaten him with powers from coins of other gods. No matter what these two had on them, they couldn't stand up to that. 

He sprang forward. 

Mordru curled his fingers slightly. In response, the coin of Loki leapt from its hiding place in Krellik's boot and flew to the wizard's hand. Krellik, already in mid-air, fell flat on his face onto the marble floor. He groaned at the impact. 

The Messenger's smile was even wider. 

Mordru examined the coin. "A pretty bauble, this, but not the prize I hoped to acquire. Messenger, would you like to acquire the powers of the evil gods?" 

"No!" screamed Krellik. His hand was outthrust, trying to reach for Mordru. "Give it back! I'll join you, just give me the coin back!" 

The orange-skinned man looked at Krellik with disgust. 

Mordru flipped Krellik the coin. It went unerringly to his hand. The bald man sighed in relief and stuffed it back in his boot. The familiar power flowed through his body again. Best to learn more about these characters before trying anything fancy. 

"Okay, I'm in, whatever it is," muttered Krellik. "What do you want me to do?" 

"To join my soldiers in a minor expedition and conquer a world," said Mordru. "That is not important. The Legion of Super-Heroes will respond, and you will oppose them. That is the important thing." 

For the first time since his arrival, Krellik smiled. "Super-heroes," he said. "Now that's something I can understand. Okay, tell me who I'm supposed to kill."   


Kara, Dev, Laurel, and Chameleon Boy, the orange-skinned, antennaed Durlan Legionnaire who could change his body into a perfect duplicate of almost anything, were in a disguised Legion spacecruiser. Dawnstar flew before them in the space-warp. Even in this distortion of real space, she was guiding them unerringly to their destination. 

"This thing sure is slow," complained Kara. She was dressed in a yellow-and-green jumpsuit, her costume compressed into a pea-sized ball and stored safely in a hidden pocket. Brainiac 5 had made an adjustment on her hair-changing comb to enable her to change hair-colors to virtually any hue. Now, for the first time, she was a redhead. 

"It is that, darling, but less conspicuous than flying in under our own power," replied Dev. He had used Kara's comb to make himself blonde, had slapped a plasti-flesh mask on his face to make him look fiftyish, wore a three-piece brown and white suit, and spoke with a different accent. Contact lenses made his irises appear green, instead of brown. 

Laurel had used body makeup to change her skin color to blue and was posing as a Talokian, one of Shadow Lass's people. She wore a purple blouse, shorts, and boots. "Sh'am I speaking wisht proper dialesht, Cham?" 

Chameleon Boy had taken on the aspect of a gray-haired Terran wizard in a purple cloak and hood. "Don't slur too much and we should make out all right," said Cham. "Let's just hope that layer of false memory Imra gave us holds up, when we run into Mordru. And I didn't say 'if', I said 'when'." 

Kara hugged herself. She had heard of Mordru many times from Superman and the Legion members, but had never encountered him personally. Kryptonians were vulnerable to magic. And at Mordru's power level, her destruction would be an easy thing indeed. 

Sheol with that, thought Kara. The Anti-Monitor had more power than that, and we managed to kill him. I've traded punches with Darkseid and lived to tell it...just barely. Be afraid after the fact, not before. 

"All right, crew, listen up," said Dev. "Tell me who you are." 

Chameleon Boy affected an aged man's intonation. "I am Nikos, adept of Yog, not a practitioner of the dark arts, but a student. I come with you as a personal friend and to behold with my own eyes the wonders of the Sorceror's Planet." 

Laurel said, "I sh'am Dirinia Dakorr, wife to Nikosh and late'sh of the planet Talos'h VII." 

"I never thought we'd get Shady to speak Interlac without an accent," said Cham. 

"I am Meladda of Rann," said Kara. "I am wife to you, Zarik Conn, and partner in your business venture." She kept a neutral expression on her face. 

"And me, I'm just Zarik Conn, interworld businessman, late of Rann, and out to do a deal with a planetary conqueror," said Dev. "Maybe I can get us a corner in the magic market. Chins up, kids, we're headed for the junction."   


Ahead of them, matched intrinsically to the speed of the spacecraft, Dawnstar flew. Her powers enabled her to survive in warp-space as easily as in the vacuum of their own space, and her consciousness was tracing out their route as easily as if she was putting a pencil to a road map. 

She could usually sense detector beams directed into space from inhabited planets. Most worlds within the U.P.'s reach, or who could pirate the technology from them, had such systems or their equivalents. She would have to hang back from Zerox by many millions of miles when they emerged from the warp. She would also have to pray that no patrol ships from that world caught her in their detection webs. 

A winged woman in dead space would be as clear a beacon of Legion involvement as anyone could hope for. Or fear. 

Part of Dawnstar's heart was still sick with grief for Wildfire, and with guilt for her betrayal of his love. Part of her mind still sang death-chants for him in the tongue of her tribe. Part of her was still unsure how she should feel about Kara Zor-El. 

But the dominant part of her was Legionnaire. So she sped on, knowing that the ship's computers would record this route and make her redundant on the return trip. 

If there was a return trip.   
  


The world of Winath was known all over the U.P. as being the home planet of Lightning Lad, Lightning Lass, and Lightning Lord. What was less known to distant worlds of the confederation was that Winath had its own local team of super-heroes. They had been created by the planetary government, and, since they were three in number, they were called the Power Triad. 

One of them was dubbed Strength, for he had great muscular power...not equal, of course, to Superboy's, but mighty nonetheless. 

Another was called Speed, and she could move at hypersonic velocity, though she was hardly the equivalent of the ancient hero called The Flash. 

The third was Stealth, who could become invisible and intangible at will. 

They were over 25 years of age, physically, and thus were not eligible for the Legion. The Winathian government would never have allowed them to leave, anyway. They were meant for the protection of the homeworld. 

As it was, several strange newcomers had phased into the Planetary Defense Control building, which was sunk some two miles underground. This was a particularly impressive feat, since there were warp-inhibiting devices all over the place and the strangely-garbed invaders appeared as if by magic. 

One of the band was Karl Krellik. Another was Professor Zoom. The third was Tyr, an old foe of the Legion's, who had a weapon in the place of his hand. 

They weren't overfond of one another, but they did know how to follow Mordru's directive. They made short work of the Power Triad. Luckily, none of the heroes were killed. 

Krellik and company took over the installation very quickly and broadcast a message to the rest of the planet, and to the U.P. in general: 

"We are in control of Winath. Let the Legion come try to take it back from us." 

And the villains sat, having had to kill only a very few people, and waited.   
  


The Zeroxians figured that anybody who was crazy enough to want to land on their planet unbidden at this time was either a bunch of spies, in which case they needed to be neutralized and / or interrogated, or insane enough to be interesting. Thus, the four newcomers who had violated their space were allowed to land at a spaceport. 

Like Princess Projectra's world of Orando, Zerox was a contrast of medaeval and ultrascientific. The spaceport abutted a city of cobblestone roads, stone and wood houses, and a forbidding castle which was Mordru's domain. 

The people of Zerox were, for the most part, homo magi who had escaped Earth through a dimensional portal during a time of persecution. Everyone on the planet was an adept to some degree, but their power had largely been drained and housed in Mordru's body. Not too many people liked that, but none was going to tell him so to his face. 

The ships which escorted Dev's craft had spy-rayed it for weaponry and found nothing very forbidding. Since trade ships were coming and going with goods from other planets even during the present state of martial law, they were allowed to land. After all, it might even be interesting. 

"Zarik Conn," said Dev when they asked his identity. "The wife and I are from Rann. You've heard of Rann? Well, who cares. We want to see a man about some magic. Industrial magic." 

The processing man had looked at them blankly. "Sir, are you ignorant of conditions on our world at present? Most magic has been curtailed at King Mordru's request." 

"So I've heard," replied Dev. "My advisor Nikos here has told me. But we'd like to talk with the big man himself. I do a deal, he does a deal, we both make some credits on it. I don't do war, I do business. You tell him that I want to do business with him. You know, money." 

A guard gave them a short look which relegated them to sub-moron level. 

Kara was using her super-hearing for various things. First, to check the pulse rate of the processors and guards. A bit tense, but nothing which indicated they might have discerned their identities. She increased her listening level a bit more and caught a cacophony of sound all over the planet. Her brain became a super-processing unit to filter out all but what she was really seeking for. 

She thought about just using her vision powers, but didn't want to be seen looking in too many directions. The guards were bound to be suspicious enough as it was, and it was easier to keep her visuals here in the processing room to keep up her ruse while her aurals sought out the information. 

Finally, she heard a voice. Her own voice. 

Satan Girl's voice. 

And the person she was talking to, the one with the tone of utter command and power, had to be Mordru. 

"One object exists in this universe," Mordru was saying. "The other in its sister. Unite both, and the Emerald can be detected, if it exists." 

Emerald? thought Kara. Could Mordru be referring to the Empress's Emerald Eye of Ekron? She thought not. If he wanted that, all he had to do was kill the Emerald Empress and take it. Since he had employed the Fatal Five as shock troops, that wasn't likely. 

"Does it exist, then?" That was her voice. But the intonation, the air of deadliness and malice in it, even though she was talking to an ally...Satan Girl's voice made Kara involuntarily shudder. 

Mordru paused. "Non-adepts have little understanding. In the Art, some things become extant through mere conception, if one's power is enough. The Throne of Sulein, the Hand of R'lann-Thyrr, the Mundane Egg, these and other such things exist only if they are conceptualized with power. Whether or not the Emerald existed before the helms are united, it will exist once the twin helms are united." 

"The Emerald will give you power supreme, then," Satan Girl said, and her sigh of passion conveyed something else to Kara. This was bedroom talk. Great Rao, she thought, my other self has become Mordru's lover! 

"Power supreme," Mordru scoffed. "If that was all I desired, I could have taken such long ago." 

"Knowledge?" asked Satan Girl. 

"I have knowledge," said Mordru. 

There was another pause, and then Satan Girl's voice said, "What, then?" 

"A means to an end," said Mordru. "Come. Lie this way. Repeat what I put in your mind." 

Both began to chant, but in between came groans of a character Kara could not ignore. Satan Girl making love to Mordru. No...making magic with Mordru. 

She shut it off. She'd heard enough. 

At the same time, she heard the processing official talking, and reeled back in her mind to the beginning of his current dialogue, her brain now processing what she had stored away in another part of her consciousness until now. 

"You will be quartered in the security bay until your plea can be brought to the King's attention," the man was saying. "You will be searched and scanned. You will be permitted no weaponry nor cold iron in his presence. Should you fail to pass any of these examinations, you will be destroyed. Within a day's passage, your plea will be ruled upon." 

Dev turned to her. "Sounds good to me. Come on, Meladda, let's go." 

A guard moved between them. "A pardon, sir. Each of you is to be housed separately until the authority is satisfied." 

Kara gave a disgusted look. "Can't you even let me wait with my husband?" 

"A pardon, mistress," said the guard. "Security." 

"Your king has...no reason...to suspect me," intoned Cham, in the semi-wheezing voice he had adopted. "I am...a mere student...of the Art. Not a practicioner." 

"He shall take that into consideration, I am sure," the guard replied. 

"Nikosh, thish is the lasht time I go wish you on a bushinessh trip," rasped Laurel. "I'll bet thish place hasn't even got a deshent hairdressher." 

Dev shot Kara a look. They couldn't even communicate telepathically. Mordru's minions had telepathic plugs tuned for thought-sending, not capable of mind-reading but certainly able to pick up mental conversations. 

She was looking straight at him. For an instant, he was surprised to feel the skin of his face heating up. Not that it could hurt him, but... 

Kara, he told himself. Heat-vision. 

The Girl of Steel was using timed pulses of heat-vision to send him a short message in Morse code. He gave her a thumb's-up signal, hoping it would be interpreted as a sign to have courage. 

The message was: 

I'M LISTENING TO MORDRU. 

Then all four of them were taken away. 

-S- 

The armed forces of Titan were standing at the ready, but nobody wanted to go against the Fatal Five yet. 

For one thing, each of the Five had enough power to take out a good portion of the forces themselves. Together, they might devastate the planet. 

Also, there was the president to think of. If a way could be found to save her, Titan's army of telepaths vowed to do so. 

What everyone was really waiting for was the Legion. 

President Foran had been telepathing a steady stream of information gleaned from her captors' brains to many of her countrymen within broadcasting distance. Her power was not so great as Saturn Girl's, but it sufficed. 

Tharok, sitting at her desk and consulting the array of monitor devices available to him, didn't much care. "I know what you're doing," he said. "You can read my mind, but you can't understand it." 

"To my eternal gratitude," retorted Foran, her hands chained before her. She was seated at the side of the room. 

The Emerald Empress turned sharply, the Eye of Ekron revolving with her as it hovered overhead. "Don't press your luck, woman. Only the fact that you're a bargaining-piece stops me from using the Eye to melt you into a puddle." 

"Do it," dared Foran, facing the Empress. 

The green-haired woman drew in a breath and the pupil of the Eye glowed. 

"That will be enough, Empress," directed Tharok. "Her taunts are without value. After we've fought the Legion, we'll consider her disposition." 

The Empress turned away. In another instant, the Eye rotated again, facing Foran, even though the Empress showed the woman her back. 

A burst of blue-white energy shot from the Eye's pupil. 

President Foran screamed, as electrical energy shot up, down, and through her body. Not enough to kill, or even render unconscious, but certainly enough to torture. 

The blast was very brief. Nonetheless, the President's gray hair was frizzed as if she had stuck her finger in a power socket. She cried and moaned. Her hands trembled. She was incapable, for the moment, of doing anything with her powers. 

But the citizens mind-linked with her knew what had happened, and were angered. They urged the armada to begin the attack on the Five at once. Grimly, the generals said no. 

"Must you be so damned impulsive?" said Tharok to the Empress. 

Mano and the Persuader walked in. "We've taken Validus for his walk," said Mano. "When in hell are we going to get some action around here?" 

Tharok retorted, "Like it or not, Mano, this time we're only hired hands. When the Legion comes, we fight them. We beat them. Then we're done." 

The Persuader, still helmeted, stood at surly attention. "Think that'll get us off Mordru's leash?" he scoffed. "We'll just be his trained dogs forevermore." 

Tharok gave the Persuader a look which said, I know more than what I'm saying--but not in front of outsiders. 

The Persuader, understanding, folded his arms. Tharok turned to Arda Foran. "I don't care if you have read my mind. You can't telepath it to Mordru, he's out of range. And after we're done with the Legion fight, you'll be dead, anyway." 

Arda Foran said nothing. She seemed pulled inward upon herself. Mano stepped closer to the half-robot villain. 

He whipped off his glove and swiped at Tharok. 

Tharok was lucky enough to take it on his robot arm. It burned off at the bicep, where Mano's disintegrator palm-disk had touched it. Mano was moving jerkily, getting his hand up for a second strike, saying nothing. 

A large hand crashed through the walls of the palace. Validus grasped Mano firmly, his deadly hand held prisoner between two of Validus's fingers. 

The Empress's eye glowed menacingly and the Persuader's axe was ready to strike off both Mano's atmosphere helmet and the head within it. 

"Don't, you two," yelled Tharok. "She's mind-controlling Tharok. Empress, shield us all with the Eye!" 

"Better be right about this," murmured the Empress. The Eye of Ekron blazed forth again, surrounding the Fatal Five in green auras that soon faded to invisibility. 

Mano grunted in pain. "Hey, Tharok, I'm really sorry about that. The bitch got into my head." 

Tharok stepped to within three feet of Mano. "You'd better be glad I figured that out," he said. "Otherwise, I'd've had Validus squeeze you to a pulp in an instant." He mentally ordered Validus to release Mano. The giant's claw-like hand sprang open. Mano gasped a sigh of relief. He donned his protective glove again. 

Tharok regarded his metal stump of an arm, then looked at Arda Foran. "We need her alive, but not whole. Persuader, an arm for an arm." 

President Foran's face contorted with fear, despite her determination. The armored executioner stepped towards her, his atomic axe ready for business. 

He raised it above his head. 

An arm with a red sleeve on it reached out and grabbed it, just under its blade. 

Mon-El and his Legion squad piled out of the space-warp White Witch had conjured up for them. There wasn't even time for a few wisecracks before the battle started.   


-S- 

Within a day's time, Dev-Em and his three associates were released from confinement. Kara and Dev had been listening to Mordru and Satan Girl, but had picked up no further great revelations, other than their sex life. Still, they both hoped that Witchy would be able to interpret Mordru's words. Kara didn't know much about magic and didn't want to. 

The foursome were assembled before Ultir, a lower-echelon minister and fourth-degree mage, whose powers had been quite sucked away by Mordru. Still, he affected the pointed hat and robe of his guild. He sat on a dais above them in a reception room amid armed guards. When he spoke, he got right to the point. 

"Convince me that you are not spies," he said. 

Kara swiftly looked over her compatriots. Laurel was convincingly hanging onto Cham's arm, and Kara figured that all her fear might not be feigned. Cham lent her "moral support" and brushed long white hair out of his eyes. As for herself, she hoped that nobody was carrying Kryptonite around for a spot check. She x-rayed the guards and their interrogator, and saw that they were lucky in that respect. 

"What's to convince?" said Dev, spreading his hands in a show of impatience. "I've told you. My name is Zarik Conn. I do business. I'm from Rann. There's two reasons I and my friends are here. First, to start the basis of trade with my company and your new government. Second, we want to talk to your leader about the practical application of magic to moneymaking." 

"If I might speak, adept," said Cham, in an accent not his own, "we've used clairvoyants from Orando, but they only see so far. We've had telepaths from Titan spy on our competitors, but they wear telepathic plugs to screen out probers now. The only thing we haven't been able to use well in the field is the Art." 

Ultir looked at him with ill-disguised contempt. "And I take it your outworld knowledge hasn't helped you much in that regard." 

Cham bowed slightly. "When one wishes knowledge, one goes to the greatest source," he said. "That is why I, why we, have come to Zerox." 

Ultir sniffed. Then he said, "We have had difficulties with spies lately. I could have put you through a larger examination already. But, if you are the spies we have encountered of late--" 

"Friend, will you get it through your head?" snapped Dev. "I'm just here to make a credit. I'm a spy like your mother's the queen of Ranagar." 

"--if you are such spies," Ultir overrode him, "there is only one test we need subject you to. The examination by our Highlord's own greatest assistant, his Messenger." He waved a hand lightly. A guard went to open a door in back of the dais, but it opened before he could get there. 

The Messenger of Mordru stepped into clear sight. 

Kara caught sight of him. Involuntarily, she gave a start--and she could guess that the Messenger had seen it. 

An orange-skinned, goateed, mustached man in red devil-horned helmet, red tunic and trunks, purple cape with a flared hood, purple leggings, red knee-high boots, and a metal wristlet on his left wrist. A villain she had not seen in many years, and hoped never to have seen again. 

Drang, the Destroyer. 

to be continued... 


	7. Chapter 7

hells7a Supergirl and the Legion of Super-Heroes   
Hellsister: Part 7   
by DarkMark 

Kara had to do something to conceal her nervous reaction. She stepped back, precisely into the arm she knew Dev-Em was reaching out to her, protectively. The trick was to present a convincing expression of fear, not surprise. She didn't have to fake the fear much. 

Drang searched their faces with a penetrating gaze. There was only so much good White Witch's defensive spells could do to conceal their identities from a probe. 

Here they were, on the world of sorcerors, with the mightiest magician of all time their foe, and his lieutenant giving them the once-over. Three of them were particularly susceptible to magc, like all Kryptonians. The fourth, Chameleon Boy, didn't count magic among his weaknesses but could be affected by it, of course. 

Drang spoke. 

"Why does your lady fear me?" he said, in a neutral tone. 

Kara was shrunk into Dev's embrace. "I don't like your aura," she said. "You frighten me." 

Drang gave a brief nod. "I should." 

Dev said, "You'll have to forgive my wife, sir. But her perceptions are usually pretty good. My name is Zarik Conn. Who can I talk to about industrial magic?" 

The orange-hued being looked at Dev as if he were a form of amoebic dysentery. 

"Industrial magic," said Drang. "People have been asking Artists to curse their competitors ever since there was an Art. And to make their own doings prosper. In the long run it means little. In the end, it means only another soul harvested." 

Dev-Em stepped a bit closer, placing Kara behind him. "What about the short run?" 

"You may profit indeed by its use, for a season," said Drang, gesturing emptily. "But you pay for it in money, and in more than money. Why do I feel a bit of magic in your makeup?" 

Chameleon Boy spoke up. 

"We had ourselves...given a safeguard spell...before leaving Rann," he said. "There are many...things which can befall...a stranger on Zerox." 

Drang fixed him with a clear eye. "If you have magicians on your world, then why do you come to Zerox?" 

Laurel answered, "Becaush we want the very besht magic. For all we know, shomebody may be ushing it againsht us already." 

"Well said, Dirinia," Dev responded. "And you have to admit, Zerox has a reputation." 

Even if it sounds like the homeworld for a copier company in my era, thought Kara. The mental joke brought her disproportionate relief. Something like remembering a funny story in front of a firing squad. 

"It does, Mr. Conn," said Drang. "All right, there is one last test I would give you before I admit you to the Presence." He snapped his fingers. 

A metal box seemed to coalesce out of the very air beside him. Kara guessed he'd had it in a magical warp-pocket. On impulse, she tried her x-ray vision on it. She couldn't look through it. 

Lead. 

Which meant... 

Kara gripped Dev's arm more firmly. She just hoped her look of fear worked for them this time. 

Dev talked quickly, "Look, sir, we're not up to all this testing and incarceration and running through the processing plant. I stand on my rights as a citizen of Rann. I do not want any more testing, I want to see your superior now. If I can't do that without that...whatever it is...then I'll turn and leave, and we'll take our business somewhere else. Furthermore, if you open that box here, I'm going to sue. Do you hear me? I can call the best minds of the Lawyer's Planet to work on anything for me. I've got that kind of money!" 

Laurel was speechless. She had guessed what was in the box. Her exposures to Kryptonite were very few. She was scared stiff of the green rock. 

Think fast, Kara told herself. You can leap at him. You can close the box before he opens it. It'll tip him off, put all of us in danger, but maybe we can avoid a magic counterattack-- 

Drang already had the box open. The chunk of green Kryptonite in it glowed like a luminous Halloween skeleton in the dark. 

The orange-hued mystic's head snapped around to the sound of a groan. 

He looked and saw Nikos, the student of mysticism, collapsing to his knees, holding his gut in apparent pain. "Take it...away," he rasped. 

Kara, Dev, and even Laurel were white-faced and sweating, feeling the pain of Kryptonite radiation, speechless, trying to fight it off. They grimly guessed what Chameleon Boy had in store. 

Drang's attention was on "Nikos". Smiling, he walked over to stand before the bearded figure. Cham was on his knees and one hand now, his other upraised, trying to reach the box and close it. Drang held it just out of reach, and chuckled. A pale green coloration was showing on Cham's skin. 

"No wonder you were only a student," said Drang. "Kryptonians don't do magic." 

"Damn you, quit hurting my friend," said Dev, hoping his pain sounded like concern. 

Drang slapped the box closed once again. He stood and regarded Chameleon Boy, who appeared to be coming back from the brink of death. Then he motioned a guard to help Cham back to his feet, and gave the box to a second guard. "Take him to a holding cell," said Drang. "If he gives you any trouble, use the Kryptonite." 

Dev, Kara, and Laurel all drew deep breaths of relief, sweat pouring down their foreheads and dampening their underarms. Kara called on Rao to grant her courage, and stepped up to get in Drang's face. "Nikos is a friend of ours. Bring him back, right now." 

Drang's manner became more threatening now. "You are in no position to make demands, milady," he said, angrily. "Bringing a Kryptonian here is a punishable offense. A very serious one." 

Dev stepped beside Kara, angrily. "So is holding U.P. citizens prisoner against their will," he snapped. "Release Nikos. He meant no harm." 

"You knew he was Kryptonian," said Drang, coldly. 

"So what? He has a good mind. Part of what drives his curiosity about the Art, as you call it, is the knowledge that he can't be a practitioner. That's why we're here, to get a practitioner. And here you go, throwing us in the slammer. For what? Because we want to make you some money?" 

"I want my hushband back," said Laurel, angrily. "Thish is a total outrage. You have no rightsh to do that." 

Drang fixed them with a gaze imported straight from Hell, and began to grow. 

Dev, Kara, and Laurel backed off, looking up at the expanding orange man. The chamber roof was a good 15 feet from the floor, and he reached it within seconds. 

Dev hesitated, and both of the women held fast with him. To act, or to keep their cover? Each of them knew that the hesitation could prove fatal. Kryptonians, after all, were vulnerable to magic. 

A burst of power went forth from Drang's eyes. Kara yelled, "No!", as it contacted Dev's chest and knocked him, grunting in pain, the entire distance of the room. He struck the wall and slid down it, moaning. 

Without thinking, Kara hurled herself forward and punched at Drang. But her blow went straight through his body. He was, she realized numbly, more a creature of force than matter. 

"You bashtard!" snarled Laurel, remembering at least to stay in character. "You unshpeakable ant-droppings! We shall have you brought to court for thish...thish..." 

Drang chuckled. "I think not. The only authority on this world is my master, and we are decidedly not subject to the authority of the United Planets. Go. See to your man. I have not expended enough force to kill him, only to...educate him a bit."   
Kara was already at Dev's side. He was trying to shake it off, but Drang's magical energy-vision bolt hurt, no question about it. She hugged him, helped bring him to his feet, whispered encouragement to him. And she was surprised, or perhaps not, to find that real tears were springing to her eyes. 

Laurel was channeling her hate into her impersonation. "I want my hushband, you tangerine-skinned scum! You have no right to hold ush!" 

Dev was still groggy. Kara pressed her mouth to his in a kiss. It was affectionate, to be sure. But it had a practical purpose: she didn't want him moaning the word "Kara" before he got his senses back. 

"Guards, you may house the Rannians--if that is what they really are--in a single cell," directed Drang, shrinking back to his normal size. "The Talokian woman will go to a separate compartment. I'll arrange for a mind-probe in the morning. Go." 

Several guards with medaeval-style chain-mail uniforms and up-to-date blasters prodded the threesome up and out of the room. 

-S- 

On Titan, Mon-El ripped the Persuader's axe right out of his hand. He felt the weapon trying to leap out of his hand, trying to return to its master, thanks to the ionic bond the Persuader had created with it. But his power was more than enough to hold it fast. 

"Give it back, Legionnaire," grated the armored killer. "I'll split you in half with it." 

"Doubt it," said Mon-El, and gave the villain a smash that knocked him straight through a wall and through several others. The Persuader was tough, but he wasn't a Daxamite. Mon-El was. 

Validus's fist came down on Mon-El and knocked him straight through the floor. 

"Great!" yelled Mano. "The Legion's finally here!" He held his deadly palm out, ready to use his disintegrator disk on anyone who came through. 

Element Lad lifted his own hand, aimed it at Mano's space-helmet, and loosed his power. 

"GAAARGGHHH!" choked Mano. Some elements of the atmosphere in his helmet had been changed into toxic substances. He couldn't breathe... 

Tharok cursed. For once, the Legion seemed to be fighting smart. But that had little advantage over Validus, who outpowered any two Kryptonians, or the Emerald Empress, the powers of whose Eye had never been measured. 

"Eat this, Legionnaires!" howled the Empress, and blasted the heroes with a bolt from her floating orb. The Legion squad--Cosmic Boy, Magnetic Kid, Blok, Lightning Lad, Lightning Lass, Saturn Girl, Element Lad, and Sun Boy--were knocked off their feet. Luckily, Blok had positioned himself in front of the blast and had taken most of its brunt. He was out for the duration. Mon-El was still nowhere to be seen. 

"Do it, Jan," muttered Sun Boy, picking himself out from under debris. Validus was turning towards the heroes, menacingly. The Empress was readying her Eye to blast them again. Tharok stood back, near Arda Foran, who was terrified at the display of power and violence. 

Painfully, Element Lad raised both his hands again and blasted an element-changing burst at the air around the Empress's eye. 

They had done some intensive research before the battle, and learned that the Empress's eye had been weakened by a certain element when Superboy first contacted her. 

That element was what El Lad now surrounded it with, thanks to his incredible power. 

Green Kryptonite. 

The Empress shrieked in frustration. Her Eye's power was being dampened, like a uranium core within a bunch of cadmium rods. She powered up her will, trying to force the Eye to blow a hole in the Kryptonite casing. 

"Crack it free, Validus," ordered Tharok. The giant with the lightning flashing from his cranium drew his hand out, reaching for the floating, green-encased orb. 

Lightning Lass let go a crackling charge of elecricity from her hand. It struck the Empress, whose green hair immediately straightened into a hairdo that would have done the Bride of Frankenstein proud. She fell unconscious. 

That was lucky, as Validus had just cracked the Kryptonite casing loose from the Emerald Eye. But, with the Empress unconscious, it had no controller. Thus, it hung motionless in the air, awaiting the next command of its mistress, whenever she awakened. 

"Destroy them, Validus!" yelled Tharok. 

A nanosecond after he said that, Tharok found himself levitated off his feet and slammed roughly against a wall. He was protected by a degaussing element from the magnetism of Cosmic Boy. But when Magnetic Kid added his power to that of Cosmic Boy's, even Tharok was not proofed against it. 

And, two seconds after that, Lightning Lad and Lightning Lass sent high-powered bolts of electricity smashing into him. It overloaded his surge protectors, knocked the robot half of him offline, and knocked the human half unconscious. 

Validus loomed over the Legionnaires, his great arms outstretched, ready to crush the lot of them. They shrank back, not sure they could open the space-warp that they had entered through in time to avoid his attack. 

Mon-El, looking much the worse for wear, punched up through a section of the floor and rammed him back. It bought them a few seconds. 

Saturn Girl had been mentally communicating with President Foran. They had quickly networked with others in contact with the President, and those had networked with still others, all in the space of instants, all of them in an ever-expanding web. As a result, a large portion of the people of Titan were in contact with them, knew what was happening, and knew what Saturn Girl wanted done. 

NOW!>, she telepathed to her army of mentalists. 

And Arda Foran united with that army as well. 

The many channelled their power through that of the lady Legionnaire, who possessed the greatest quotient of mental power on the planet. Others were adding their threads of power to the assault every instant. Imra Ardeen felt as though a giant redwood tree was being forced through her head, but at the moment, it didn't matter. 

The power of a million minds was united, and directed in a bolt of mental force through Saturn Girl, and against Validus. 

It impacted hard into his electrically-charged brain. 

He roared in agony. The mental warriors of Titan felt pain as well, from the feedback of the mighty monster's brain. But they held fast, for the sake of their ruler and their greatest heroine, and slammed into their target again, accessing more and more minds throughout the planet. 

Validus struggled to maintain his consciousness, tried to reach out and crush the Legionnaires, but it was of no use. Mon-El added his physical force to the Titanians' mental force, battering their foe's body as they battered his mind. 

Lighting Lad and his sister strained their abilities to the max as they pumped thunderbolts into Validus. Sun Boy blasted him with as much solar heat as he dared, given the presence of the others in the room. Element Lad solidified the air about Validus into inertron, trying to halt his progress, though the giant crushed it to bits in his blunderings. 

For an instant, Saturn Girl hesitated. The blasting into Validus's brain opened an area there that seemed strangely...well...familiar to her. But she hadn't the luxury of analysis just then. 

Hit him again,> she commanded. Full force. Bring him down this time...or we're dead.> 

Despite all the power being directed at him, Validus was still struggling to reach his prey. One squeeze of his mighty hand, and any of them save Mon-El would be squashed like ripe tomatoes. And not even Mon-El could withstand the monster's full strength. 

The power of seven million minds struck out at Validus. 

At the same time, Mon-El grasped the Persuader's Atomic Axe, and smashed it full-force into the monster's head. 

It didn't penetrate it. But the impact of that great blow, and that of the Titanians' mental blast, were enough to do the job. 

Validus tottered, stumbled, and went down on his chest with a great crash, splintering the substance of the floor. He was unconscious, and would stay that way for a very long time. 

Mon-El was badly bruised, his uniform torn, and he was obviously exhausted. He wiped his mouth, staring at their fallen foe. Then he swung his gaze to take in the equally unconscious Tharok, Emerald Empress, and Mano. 

Finally, he smiled at his fellows, and at Saturn Girl and President Foran, who were still locked in deep mental union. 

"Looks like we won," he said. 

-S- 

The holding cell that Kara and Dev were placed in was a bit more up-to-date than their earlier quarters. It did have a double bed. Kara stared at it for a few seconds, then lay Dev across it. He was still shaking off the effects of Drang's bolt. 

"Gently, love," she said. "Don't try to talk just now." 

He seemed to get the message. 

She wondered if she dared rake the walls with X-ray vision. She decided against it; there might be radiation detectors within the walls that could register such usage and betray her identity. But there had to be spying devices trained on this room. Mordru was smart enough to employ high-tech where he needed it. 

Kara decided on microscopic vision. 

It took a while to comb the room using it, but it was worth the effort. She discovered seven hidden cameras and eight listening devices. There was indeed a newly-installed detector that would have betrayed the usage of X-ray vision. After all, since their earlier foray into Zeroxian territory, Mordru was expecting Kryptonians. 

"Love, I'm sorry I got you into this," he murmured. Kara sat on the side of the bed and put her hand on his own. From his pulse rate, she knew that he meant what he said. 

She kissed him. 

Dev didn't need super-senses to know that she meant it, too. 

She lay her other hand on the side of his face. He half-opened his eyes and smiled. Not a grin of asinine sexual anticipation, but a smile of true affection. Kara breathed in deeply, then let it go. 

No. Mustn't think of...doing that yet. Should I think of it at all? Great Rao, what am I doing? 

She shook her head. "We'll get out of this somehow," she said. "Just a bad idea to come here, I guess." 

"My idea, not yours," Dev responded. Then his eyes opened wider for a moment, in realization. 

Kara was pressuring his hand and easing up on it, sending him a message in Morse code. 

It was one of the few ways they could communicate, and possibly escape detection by the spy devices. Possibly. 

THAT WAS DRANG WHO BLASTED YOU, she said, with her squeezings. OVER. 

He sent his own hand-pulsings back. SO YOU KNOW HIM? OVER. 

Kara: AN OLD ENEMY OF MINE STOP A MAGIC FORCE-BEING STOP THOUGHT HE WAS DESTROYED BUT ALSO THOUGHT I SAW HIM REGENERATING LATER OVER. 

Dev: CAN WE USE VISION IN HERE? OVER. 

Kara: NO STOP X-RAY DETECTORS IN WALLS STOP WE CAN USE SUPER-HEARING OVER. 

Dev: OK STOP THEN WE MAY BE ABLE TO DO MORE RECON OVER. 

Kara: AREN'T YOU WORRIED ABOUT YOURSELF? OVER 

Dev: WORRIED ABOUT MISSION STOP WORRIED ABOUT MORDRU STOP WORRIED ABOUT CHAM AND LAUREL STOP WORRIED ABOUT YOU OVER. 

He brought his other arm up and embraced her. He drew her down. He kissed her. She opened her mouth and they blessed each other with their tongues. 

It was a long time before they broke the kiss. 

For this kind of communication, they had no need to use Morse code. 

But she finally sighed and began to squeeze his palm again. 

Kara: NOT NOW, DEV. OVER. 

Dev: UNDERSTOOD STOP SORRY OVER. 

Kara: DON'T BE STOP I'M SCARED STOP NEVER DID THIS BEFORE OVER. 

Dev: KISSED QUESTION I CAN'T BELIEVE THAT OVER. 

Kara: NOT THAT DUMMY EXCLAMATION POINT STOP YOU KNOW WHAT I MEAN OVER.   
Dev: I KNOW BUT I'D NEVER MAKE YOU DO SOMETHING YOU DIDN'T WANT TO STOP SHOULD WE DO A BIT OF LISTENING QUESTION OVER. 

Kara: I KNOW YOU WOULDN'T AND NEVER MIND ABOUT WANTING STOP WE'LL TALK ABOUT IT LATER STOP LET'S DO OUR LISTENING SHALL WE QUESTION OVER. 

Dev: SIGH STOP YES, LOVE OVER. 

The physical telegraphy was done at super-speed, but each of them was able to decipher the "dots" and "dashes" without difficulty. 

Kara began her listening. First, she picked out Laurel, who was demanding to see the U.P. Embassy (which didn't exist on Zerox), demanding better food, and demanding some decent video selections, all in a single rant and all in a flawless Talokian accent. Good for her. But she could tell from Laurel's heartbeat that she was worried about the others. 

LAUREL'S OKAY OVER, she told Dev. 

CONFIRMED STOP I HEARD HER TOO OVER, said Dev. 

Then they listened for Cham. He was sitting quietly in his cell, in a lotus position, not responding to the guards until they sadistically threatened to open the Kryptonite box again. Then he screeched in horror and backed against the rear wall of his chamber, his hands held up before his face. The guards laughed. So was Cham, inwardly. But he, too, was worried. Kara admired him. 

CHAM IS WELL OVER, said Dev. 

ACKNOWLEDGED OVER, said Kara. 

And then she tried listening for Mordru. 

She directed her aural powers to the sorceror's keep, to his bedroom, to his study, to his torture chamber, to his bathroom, to his feast-hall, and to every area within a thirty-mile radius of it, using her super-brain to pick through the voices and noises like a CIA spook analyzing a voice recording. 

Mordru was not there. 

CAN'T HEAR MORDRU OVER, she said. 

ME NEITHER STOP TRY AROUND THE PLANET OVER, responded Dev. 

Kara and Dev spent the next few minutes combing the world of Zerox with their incredible ear-power. They picked up many things they wished they had not. Spells and incantations that fairly burned their brain to listen. Voices of men and...things that may not have been men. Normal conversations. The sounds of animals in the field. Fishwives at the marketplace. Military men discussing strategies. City guards bracing suspects. All within mere minutes, each of them filtered for the slightest resemblance to Mordru, but none of them a precise match. 

HE'S NOT HERE OVER, said Kara. 

I CAN'T HEAR HIM EITHER STOP NOT GOOD OVER, said Dev. 

GOING TO LISTEN FOR SATAN GIRL OVER, said Kara. 

WATCH YOURSELF OVER, replied Dev. 

Within a few moments she heard a heartbeat and breathing cadence that she had registered semi-consciously before in their previous encounter, and could not mistake now. 

About it, she heard the sound of rushing air. The same sort of sound Kara heard when she was in flight. 

Then there was a crash of splintered timbers and masonry. Satan Girl was breaking through a roof. 

A sound of chanting within the building that roof belonged to was heard by Kara, then stunned silence. Then people screaming. 

Smashing and crunching of materials. Fleeing humans. A shriek of rending metal. And Satan Girls' voice. 

"This is what you worship?" she screamed. "Look what I can do to it!" 

A splang of a crashing, hollow metal idol being upended, and then a hissing of heat, and a moan from the congregation who witnessed it. Kara guessed Satan Girl was melting the idol. 

From Satan Girl's heartbeat and pulse rate, Kara detected the woman's irritation and rage. Her doppleganger was angry at something else, and taking it out on innocents. Her hand tightened, involuntarily and painfully, on Dev's. 

NO, he sent back. 

Then she heard the sound of a girl screaming in terror. Not in pain, thank Rao. But in outright fear. 

And another woman said, "Monster, release my child! I'll do anything you want, anything, but give me my child!" 

Kara released Dev's hand. He grasped her shoulder. "Love, what's the matter?" he said, as a cover. 

Satan Girl's voice again. "You'll do anything? Well, that's nice, but I don't need you to do anything. I'll show you what you can worship...and why you should worship her. Because she can do this..." 

But before the voice could get that far, Kara Zor-El had smashed through the holding cell wall. 

With a speed beyond light, she zoomed in on the point from which Satan Girl's voice had emanated. Even her friction-treated clothes began to smoulder, though they didn't burn off. Kara prayed as much of a prayer as she could get in within a fraction of a second. 

The prayer was answered. 

Satan Girl hadn't had a chance to hurt the little girl she was holding. 

Kara smashed a hole through the side of the temple of Syrinx in one of Zerox's major cities, whipped the girl out of Satan Girl's grasp, and crashed five knuckles into the woman's jaw, all within several hundredths of a second's time. 

The girl tumbled back into the arms of her mother, unharmed, but weeping in fear. 

Satan Girl's body smashed another hole through the opposite side of the temple, giving the structure a lot more air conditioning than it probably needed. 

As the loggy villainess raised herself up to half-sitting, a familiar form landed before her, in a power stance. A crowd of villagers nearby, drawn by the earlier violence Satan Girl had done to the temple, stood back and watched, in awe and terror. 

But each one of them was glad the strange woman had knocked the purple-clad bitch on her kiester. 

"Hear you've been looking for me," said Kara, facing the woman who stared bolts of hatred into her eyes. "Take your best shot." 

To be continued... 


	8. Chapter 8

hells8   
Supergirl and the Legion of Super-Heroes:   
Hellsister: Part 8   
by DarkMark 

Kara Zor-El faced the most evil woman she had ever encountered, and the fact that the woman wore Kara's face didn't make things any easier. 

Around them, behind them, the townspeople began to mutter, gasp, whisper, and even scream. The gist of it all was: Someone as powerful as the Evil Woman has come to deliver us. Maybe. We hope. 

The little girl that Satan Girl had menaced was now in her mother's arms and being rushed away. If Kara had anything to say about it, Satan Girl would be missing parts of her body before she got near that little girl again. 

The problem with that, of course, was that Satan Girl was glaring with pure anthracite-black malice at Kara, and getting ready to see if she could punch a fist through the front of her and make it come out her back. 

That was all she had the time to notice before a blur rushed in and clouted Satan Girl a good one upside the head. The villainess was out for the count, and Kara knew she hadn't done it. Her first reaction was relief. Her second, strangely (even to her), was a feeling of having been cheated. Of having a chance to throw down on somebody who could punch me halfway across this solar system? Riiiiight, she thought. 

While she was completing that thought, Kara found herself grabbed and carried at lightspeed-and-past by the blur, which, now she was travelling at precisely that blur's velocity, resolved itself into Dev-Em. 

A very grim, very tight-lipped Dev-Em, who wasn't looking at her. 

"Dev, what--" said Kara, putting her mouth close to his ear in order to make her words heard in the speedstream. 

"Shut up," said Dev, in as emotionless a tone as she had ever heard from him. 

There were obstacles in their way, she sensed, and Dev was plowing through them as if they didn't exist. None of them were human. He detoured enough for people. And he didn't let up his grip on Kara's waist. 

She added her speed to his, letting him steer. Before she could draw two more breaths, they had rocketed through another barrier and he had picked up another female burden, in his other arm. The blue-dyed, thoroughly flabbergasted Laurel Kent. 

"Dev, Kara, what's going on?" gasped Laurel. 

"Later," snapped Dev, and thrust his feet against the ground, propelling them all skyward at a rate that seared a small hole in Zerox's ozone layer. 

Kara had time enough to think of one other person. "Cham," she said. "What about Cham?" 

Then Dev looked at her, and his face was colder than the ice about Superman's Fortress. 

"We're leaving him," said Dev, and snapped his gaze away from her. 

Bare seconds had passed while all this had taken place. The blue of Zerox's skies had faded to violet, then black, while their three-person projectile rocketed towards the place where warpspace invaded their dimension. The yellow-clad winged woman called Dawnstar was waiting near the warp opening, protected by a cloaking device, but visible to them. 

Dawny barely had time to register their presence before Dev let Kara go and grabbed her, whipping himself, Laurel, and her into the bizarre boundary. Kara held onto one of Dev's feet to keep the contact between them. Until she knew exactly where Dev was going, she didn't dare chance separation. 

Three seconds after they entered the warp, Black Adam and Ar-Ual followed, and could not find them. Their quarry might be only a hundred feet away from them, or a hundred light years. 

Missed them again,> noted Black Adam. 

We missed seeing Satan Girl get knocked on her ass, too,> said Ar-Ual. 

Black Adam grinned at her. That I regret the most,> he said.   


Dev led them through another warp-portal to a different world than they had visited on their last stopover. He was a good enough spy not to use the same route more than once. But he did not pass words with any of the women until all four of them set their booted feet on the dusty surface of the planet Thorius IV. The atmosphere was thin, but they all had telepathic plugs, and Dawnstar was adapted to such an environiment. 

Laurel Kent sat cross-legged on the ground. Kara stood, not knowing what to expect besides wrath and disapproval. 

Dawnstar moved closer to Kara, searching her features, and stood between her and Dev, though she was not aware of it. 

Dev stood with his back to the three women. Nobody sent anything until Dev turned, very slowly and deliberately. 

He sought out Kara with his gaze. He drew several breaths for effect before he sent his first message. 

You blew the mission,> said Dev, his hands near his sides. His eyes didn't leave her face. 

Kara met his stare with her own. Satan Girl was about to kill a child,> she replied. What was I supposed to do, Dev, let her die?> 

You blew the mission,> repeated Dev, with more force. We had to leave Chameleon Boy behind. If it was anybody but him, I'd be going back for him right now, without you. But he stands a chance...I hope.> 

Dawnstar said, Dev, this is unfair. Legionnaires are pledged to preserve life, and if an innocent--> 

Dev's face twisted in anger. Frab the innocent! You endangered us all with your actions, Kara. Me. Laurel. Cham. Dawnstar. Yourself. If I'd been a hair later with my pickups, we'd have had Ar-Ual and Adam to deal with, too. Plus all of Zerox. Think you could take on a planet of magicians? By yourself?> 

Supergirl stepped forward, angrily. Listen, Dev, and listen damn good. I am not a spy. I'm a super-heroine, and a Legionnaire, and a human being. Do you think I could have let a little girl die, at the hands of my own clone? Do you think I could ever have lived with myself if that happened?> 

Kara's right, Dev,> said Laurel. We can't abandon people in danger just because of your mission. Even one like this.> 

"Even one like this,"> Dev retorted. Don't you think I have a notion of what was going on? But can't you realize that Mordru is on a scale much greater than one human life, even if it is a little girl's? Don't you think I know that--> 

I don't think you know enough,> burst in Laurel, getting right in Dev's face. I don't think you know a damned thing. Shut up, Dev.> 

He stood in front of her, his mouth working. Take a swing at me, you big, brave man,> sneered Laurel, bravely. Just you try.> 

Supergirl interposed herself between them, pushing Dev and Laurel apart. Enough, Laurel,> she said. If Dev wants to smack somebody, let him try me. I'm the one he's mad at.> 

Dev turned his head and spit to the side. I'm not smacking anyone,> said Dev. Much as I might like to. If I had been the one to try that stunt, I'd be up on charges at UPIC within the week. I'd be decommissioned, maybe even face time at Takron-Galtos. Would you have appreciated it, Kara, if I'd blown our cover back during our interrogation, and gotten a squad of Zerox cops with wands just primed for Kryptonians? Tell me.> 

Kara shook her head. Oh, Dev,> she said. I thought I knew you better than that. I thought you knew me better than that. If we don't step in to save people from the evil we're fighting, than what in Sheol are we fighting it for?> 

Kara, you ever have a chance to read military theory and / or history?> snapped Dev. In case you don't know, commanders have to make decisions that will endanger some innocents, perhaps even kill them--> 

Not me,> said Kara. Not ever.> 

--Perhaps even kill them, to save the greater number and achieve the greater objective,> Dev said. You have to hold to the greater objective. You simply have to. There is no escaping that fact.> 

Dawnstar held Kara's bicep lightly and sent a PM to her. To think that I once held you in contempt. Forgive me, Kara. I now know who is the true monster among us.> 

Dev's not a monster,> sent Kara, in a PM of her own. But he's also not a Legionnaire. Thanks, Dawny.> 

Laurel touched Dev's shoulder. Dev, just listen to me for a moment. Could you sacrifice the life of another, so easily, just to complete a mission...even one as big as this?> 

He whipped his head around to look at her. 

I have,> he said. 

None of the three women said anything. 

It was an inforunning operation out of a Dark Circle world,> Dev continued. My contact was a man in deep cover. Their cointelpro caught up to us just after an information drop. We had made arrangements on what to do if such a thing happened. I exposed him as a traitor. My cover held. He was taken away, tortured, and killed. I got the package through. Later, I saw to it that his torturers got theirs. No, I didn't do it personally...but I made sure it was done. That's how it is in my world. Not pretty, but we get the job done.> 

Kara looked at him looking at her. Numbly, she knew that she'd never watch a James Bond movie again and enjoy it. 

No, don't think I enjoyed it,> he said. Rolg's face still comes to me in a particularly juicy nightmare every now and then. But he has to wait his time in line. And you know what he tells me? He tells me about the people of that world who were liberated, in time, with the information I got through. He tells me that I did the right thing.> 

That little girl's ghost would never tell me that,> said Kara. 

Dev put his hands on his hips. And I suppose you can save her again, if Satan Girl wants to try killing her again? Go on, Kara. Go back to Zerox and try.> 

Supergirl stepped closer, stared full in Dev's face for a second, and then slapped him off his feet. 

-S- 

The guards of the holding cell on Zerox in which they had placed the Rokynian mystic weren't prepared for what they saw. Or, rather, what they didn't see. 

A few seconds ago, the monitor screen clearly showed the man sitting peaceably on the bench that would also serve as his bed. Now, he was not there. Not anywhere in the cell that they could see. 

Franticly, the guard in charge of the monitor steered the controls of the camera within the corner of the cell's ceiling to cover every inch of the enclosure. It even saw under the bench. There was no place he could have gone. Yet, he was nowhere in sight. 

"I thought this guy couldn't do magic," said one of the other guards. "Rokynians can't do magic." 

"So who said he was Rokynian?" snapped another of the band of three. 

"They saw him hurting from the Kryptonite," said the third. "Said he looked like somebody'd stuck his hand in a chopping machine." 

"Hell with that," snapped the first guard, getting up. "I've sent an all-points. Get a couple of wands and come on." 

The three men opened the mystic's cell, guns in one hand, wands in the other. The wands' magical charge was set to detect a life-form other than their own. And, incredibly enough, they did detect such a life. 

"Where the hell is he?" snapped one. 

"Join arms," said the monitor guard. "Look up. Look down. Now move forward, see if we hit anything solid." 

While they were moving forward, they weren't looking down. 

They didn't see a small section of flooring they had walked over more-or-less flow out of the cell, and blend in against the floor and wall beyond. 

But they did notice it when the door swung shut on them, before they could get out. 

It would take the shouting trio some time to key the door open. By that time, Chameleon Boy would have covered a lot of ground. 

-S- 

The tower in Salem had stood there for over 1,000 years. The object within it had been there for almost that long. On occasion, the people who used it took it with them, but they always brought it back. The Lords of Order made them. 

There was no physical entryway into the tower, and, unless you were an adept, there was no way you could get in. Even on 30th Century Earth, the place was off limits. The world wars that had ravaged Earth over the last ten centuries had failed to bring the structure down. A few people in government knew about the tower's nature, and they didn't permit anyone inside it. Some who had tried came out altered in various interesting ways. Some didn't come out. Most never got in. 

Yet, this was not the Earth of the Legion of Super-Heroes. 1,000 years ago, this was the Earth of the Justice Society of America. Whether or not heroes inhabited the Earth-Two of the 30th Century was not apparent, because none of them came to stop the bearded man who flowed through the stones of the Salem tower as if they were water. 

The object on the plain wooden table before Mordru was a golden helmet. It was not made of gold, but of an undetermined metal much harder than steel. Its edge in front came to a slight point, and the only holes in its surface were two eye-holes. The helm itself covered the rest of the face, to just below the chin. 

Mordru reached for the helmet. 

Beings attempted to bar his way. He had not been chosen to receive the helmet. Nabu the Wise appeared in the mind's eye of Mordru and threatened to utterly destroy the sorceror. Mordru reacted with contempt. He had faced greater even than Nabu in his time, and prevailed. Armed with the right knowledge and enough power, a sorceror could overcome the safeguards, and claim the helmet. 

Mordru took the helmet in his right hand. 

He did not put it on. 

"One more stop to make," he muttered, completely ignoring the chorus of the Lords of Order thundering in his consciousness. 

He exerted a fraction of his power and faded from that Earth's plane. The Helmet of Fate went with him. 

Nabu and his brethren were as grim as they had been in many a year. Mordru's objectives were clear. Now, pawns must be chosen to block his play. 

Working across dimensional planes was not an easy thing, but the Lords of Order resolved to try.   


-S- 

Dream Girl sought out a calm spot in the Legion's break room and sat down at a table, resting her head in her hands. Sometimes she got her prophetic visions spontaneously, which was a real bitch when you were trying to get your manicure done at the same time. Other times she could exert her powers and get the pictures in semi-coherent form. A lot depended on interpretation. All it amounted to, in her mind, was turning over raw information to people who could process it a bit better than she could. But they couldn't pick it up themselves, which gave her no small pride. 

This time, it was an occasion that fell somewhere between the two varieties. She was trying to bring her powers to bear on foreseeing the future events of this battle, on her own. But it was like she was being gently prodded in that direction by an Other. The vibes didn't seem hostile, and she'd have Mysa check her out after the seeing. For right now, the important thing was to use the Gift. 

And she did. 

Dream Girl tranced herself out, her eyes shut, her mind completing the skip into the near future. Or was it the future? The drift seemed to bend backwards after a certain point... 

A note of fear injected itself into her being. She was seeing something...she didn't know what it was, but she wasn't sure she wanted to be where she was, mentally. Involuntarily, she shuddered, but forced herself on. 

There was...a sort of war going on...a battlefield...she wasn't sure of the nature of the combatants...of what world they were native...or even what universe...terror... 

Dream Girl wanted to wrench herself out. But the vision was not yet done. She briefly flashed on the thought: Will I be able to pull myself out if I go any further? 

She wasn't at all sure of that. 

But she was a Legionnaire, and her power was needed. 

So she stayed on. 

The more distinct the vision became, the more terrified she became. The two factions at war, the great black tower a few antlike figures were walking into one by one, its terrible swaying... 

Then the flash on a circle of people, just for an instant. She couldn't identify them. It was just a mental blip. 

Then the symbol. The symbol which filled the skies above the battlefield, the blackness and whiteness, with a line of demarcation between and a dot of opposition within the midst of each...and...a figure, very small by proportion, floating towards it... 

She could not have told you why this scenario frightened her the most. But it did. 

Dream Girl heard someone screaming. The vision went blotto and she felt hands on her arms, shaking her. She recognized herself as the source of the screams and was somewhat reassured by that. 

She opened her eyes. Mysa, her sister, was holding her and repeating her name. "Nura. Nura. Come out of it. Please, Nura, come back. Now!" 

Nura Nal shook her head. Only Mysa was with her. Their sisterly rapport was greatly helpful, despite their differences. "I'm back, Mysa. I'm here." 

"Oh, Creator," sighed Mysa. 

"I...don't think so," said Nura. 

Then she started to tell Mysa about the dream. 

-S-   
Even Professor Zoom could get tired, having to cover the whole Planetary Defense Center on Winath many times per second. It was his version of guard duty. Krellik's coin gave him the power to see many things normal people couldn't, and he was using that power now to check for invaders. Between the two of them, they felt prepared for the Legion. And, as they and Tyr well knew, the Legion would come. 

"They're bound to send Lightning Lad. And Lightning Lass," muttered Tyr, oiling his gun-hand. 

"I don't give a damn who they send," said Krellik. "They can send the Mormon Tabernacle Choir. I'll kill 'em all, down to the last alto." 

Tyr shot Krellik a look of contempt, without disguising it. Krellik was amused. "Have any idea why Mordru teamed the three of us?" 

The red-skinned man shook his head. "Maybe because of the three imbeciles we had to smash up. You're from the past, is that not so?" 

Krellik said, "I'm from the 20th Century, my name is Karl Krellik, I've got no serial number. I found the Coin of Loki in the City of the Gods. That's where my powers come from. I had exactly one gig, fighting a guy called Captain Action, even though I got to see Superman. Then I got snatched here. How about you?" 

"This is my native time," said Tyr. "I am a warlord of Tyrraz, scourge of my galaxy, and nearly the destroyer of the Legion that Mordru sends us against. At first I made their Timber Wolf my pawn. Then I fought them directly, even sending my planet, a mobile war-world, against them. Thus far...my campaigns against them have been less than successful." 

Krellik's eyes spoke jokes, but his mouth didn't repeat them. Instead, he said, "What about Zoomy?" 

The yellow blur slowed enough to become visible, and his voice echoed from the perimeter of the chamber. "Name's Eobard Thawne. From the 25th. Got hold of a Flash costume from a satellite. Had enough traces of Flash's speed for me to reproduce it in me. Going back to the 20th after I finish this gig and make Flash's wife an offer she better not refuse. That's all you need." 

Krellik was about to respond when he suddenly halted. His eyes scoured the floor. He leaped to a certain spot, snatched something off the floor too small to be seen or even felt. Tyr peered at Krellik's hand, but said nothing. 

The bald villain willed some of the Loki coin's magic into play. Against her will, Shrinking Violet grew to perceptible size, then to full human stature. 

While she was doing that, Ultra Boy emerged from a space-warp behind them, and Krellik's perception wasn't fast enough to keep him from being bashed. But Professor Zoom streaked towards him and smashed a super-speed blow at his jaw. Ultra Boy could only use one power at a time. While using super-strength, he couldn't be invulnerable. He crashed into a back wall of the chamber, shorting out equipment, fighting for consciousness. Zoom was still at him, pounding away with glee. 

Tyr shot projectiles at Ultra Boy, but Colossal Boy was the next to emerge from the warp, and grabbed his gun-hand, pointing it upward. Krellik leapt 15 feet above the ground and unloaded a smashing haymaker at Gim. 

By that time, the rest of the Legion contingent had arrived, and battle was joined. 

-S- 

Supergirl and her crew arrived at Legion headquarters after traversing the space-warp again. Kara and Dev avoided looking at each other. Both Laurel and Dawnstar had tried to put out peace feelers to Dev, but had been courteously rebuffed. 

Brainiac 5, White Witch, and Dream Girl were on hand. Brainy broke out into a big smile when he saw Kara, although when he perceived Dev's body language, his smile became a bit strained.   
And, as he realized Chameleon Boy was not with them, the smile faded entirely. 

"Glad you got back," he said. "Where's Reep?" 

Dev started to speak, but Kara held out her hand. Then, with a deep breath, she spoke. "I blew the mission. I may have put Cham's life in danger. We got some information. Mysa needs to hear it. Maybe you and she can put it together." 

Brainiac 5, hands on his hips, said, "How endangered is Reep?" 

Kara started to speak. This time it was Dev who interrupted. 

"Kara didn't have much of a choice, Brainy. Satan Girl was endangering a child. Kara heard it, knocked the bitch on her kiester, and saved the kid. I had to pull us all out of there jig-time, and I just didn't have time to grab Reep, too. He's on his own. But he's got his disguise power, and he's the head of your Espionage Squad. I think he's got a chance." 

Brainiac, Mysa, and Nura all studied the threesome in silence for a moment. Laurel started to speak, but Dawnstar hushed her with a gesture. The dynamics were shifting, and Dev's crow-eating might help put things together again. 

"We're going to have to get him as soon as we can," said Brainy. "But right now, give me the info you've got. And don't worry about 'blowing it'...you were in danger every minute you were on that planet. Who first? Kara, Dev?" 

Dev jerked his thumb at Kara. "She did the crucial listening. I'll fill in what I know later." 

Kara's posture, Brainy noted, showed a little more relaxation. They must've had a hell of a fight about the mission. He could guess, from the looks of the other two girls, how it must have gone. 

Part of him was naughtily glad that things between Dev and Kara weren't all that rosy. Another part, the altruistic side, wanted what was best for Kara...and if she wanted Dev, that was her decision. But most of him was intent on the mission at hand. And magic was far out of his usual purview. 

"All right," said Kara. "Here's what I heard." 

When she had finished, she noted that the White Witch's pupils were a bit wider, like a frightened cat's. "What do you make of that, Mysa?" 

"The twin helms," said Mysa. "Chaos and Order. Great cosmos, he's going to unify them." 

Brainiac 5 snapped his fingers. "Doctor Fate. His helmet...the Helmet of Order. I met him when we fought the Three Demons with the Justice League and Justice Society. And so did Mordru." 

Mysa nodded. "And you say that he was not on Zerox when you left. That means he has gone after the Golden Helm or the Blue Helm, or both, already. We have to call back the Legionnaires and see if we can safeguard one or both. They will increase his power exponentially. But that last...the Emerald?" 

Supergirl nodded. "Do you think it has something to do with the Emerald Empress?" 

Mysa shook her head, concentrating. "No. If he wanted the Ekron Eye, he could have taken it from her when he gathered the Fatal Five to him. It wouldn't make that much difference to his power, anyway. But--" 

"I'm with you, Sis," said Dream Girl. "The twin helmets may just boost him up to a level at which he can get something he wants...maybe this emerald." 

Brainiac said, "We know that Mordru started out as a mage of the Gemworld. Perhaps it has something to do with the gems of the ruling houses there..." 

"No!" gasped White Witch. 

Her eyes were wide with shock. Mysa Nal's hands trembled, and both Kara and Dream Girl rushed to her side, to support her. "Great Creator, no! It cannot be true...but...but it must be." 

Dev said, tensely, "What, Witch? What must be?" 

The Witch's hands went to her face for a second. Then she sighed, straightened her shoulders, and said, "Brainy, we must recall all the Legionnaires at once. It may already be too late. But we must act now, if we can act at all." 

"Mysa, what is it?" said Kara. "Tell us, and quit obscuring." 

The sorceress looked at Kara, very steadily, and very grimly. 

"Mordru seeks the Devil's Emerald," she replied. 

-S- 

In the part of the Arctic wastes in which Superman had kept his Fortress of Solitude...there still was a Fortress of Solitude. 

It wasn't the original. That had been done away with centuries ago. But there were few places on Earth in which 30th Century citizens couldn't go, if they wanted to. And some entrepreneurial businessmen, when Superboy's appearances with the Legion had made people conscious of the line of Superman again, had bought the land, consulted ancient texts, made a few time-trips for verification, and had created a new Fortress of Solitude that was anything but. 

They festooned it with as many relics of the Man of Steel as they could profitably acquire, or facsimiles thereof, and outfitted it with statues, holograms, displays, and aural playbacks that clued the thousands of visitors per day in to the great history of the first Superman, Supergirl, and his friends, plus some of the great Kent / El line of the next 500 years. 

Of the last Superman on Earth, there was only a cursory display. Some of the youngsters found it the most fascinating. 

Supergirl had never been to the faux Fortress, and there was a standing order at Legion headquarters not to let her or Superboy know it existed, if they could help it. Interestingly enough, none of that had to do with one of the Fortress's final secrets, of which even the new owners were oblivious. 

Mordru came through the roof of the Fortress like a cannonball, the golden helmet still in his right hand. Large pieces of ceiling and jagged shards of ice crushed or stabbed several people to death. The rest were sent into panic, and stampeded away from the site. Some guards, overcoming their shock, turned powerful ray-weapons on Mordru. He was surrounded by Brainiac's force-field, but wouldn't have much noticed the beamers even if he hadn't been. 

The mage's feet touched the polished surface of the Fortress's floor at precisely the spot in which he sensed his objective. He held his left hand out, pointed directly downward. From his fingers there sprang five beams of power, drilling into the stone and soil beneath, going down, down, down. 

Five miles down, to be precise. 

Within a minute, a three-foot-square block of copper was wrenched to the surface, spewing more dirt and rock throughout the entire chamber. 

A supervisor, accompanied by five guards, pushed through a doorway. "Hey, wait a minute," he yelled. "What are you doing to our exhibit? Get back, there!" 

Mordru, without looking at them, sent a bolt from his left hand that killed them all. 

The block of copper had remained beneath the Fortress since Superman had placed it there, not long before he laid in the massive floor over it. Once he had encountered the object within, and its wielder, and had discovered that copper retarded its power. 

It mattered little to Mordru. He raised his left hand again, splayed flat like a karate fighter's, and chopped downward. The block fell away in two pieces. 

Mordru took the end of the copper wire surrounding the object and unravelled it. 

The helmet beneath the wire was blue metal. Not painted, not steel-blue, but actually bright blue metal. 

It was the mate to the golden helmet in Mordru's right hand. 

The Lords of Chaos might have welcomed Mordru as a brother-in-arms if they were more blissfully ignorant of his purpose. But they, too, focussed their powers on him, trying their best to keep him from utilizing their trinket. 

It mattered as little as the earlier shellacking he had taken from the Lords of Order. 

Mordru took the blue helmet in his left hand. He hefted them both, taking the balance of each. Then he sighed, shook off the peaked cap on his head, and did what he had come to do. 

First he jammed the golden helmet on his head. His white beard peeked out from under it, and hung down to mid-chest on him. Truthfully, it looked almost comical. 

Then he slammed the blue helmet atop the gold one. Chaos over Order...but with the power of both. 

A hum of power filled the air. By this time, the 5,000 tourists of the Fortress of Solitude Complex were all trying to get the hell out of the place, and wishing they'd tried Antarctica for a vacation, instead. 

Mordru was oblivious to all. The power...the POWER... 

And yet, that would not be enough. And the Lords of Chaos and Order, now desperately breaking tradition and communicating with each other, also knew it. 

Even the Emerald would not be enough, thought Mordru. It, too, was just a means to the End. 

To the End... 

Mordru threw back his head, the twin-helm clinging to his head like metallic skin, and laughed and laughed and laughed. 

Then he destroyed the Fortress of Solitude. 

To be continued... 


	9. Chapter 9

hells9a Supergirl and the Legion of Super-Heroes:   
Hellsister: Part 9   
by DarkMark 

The problem with battling foes like Professor Zoom and Krellik is that, for the Legion, they were cards from another deck. Tyr they knew, but even he turned out to be more than they could handle, given the speed of Zoom and the magic and strength of Krellik. 

In the end, neither Tellus, Polar Boy, Sensor Girl, Power Boy, Shrinking Violet, Colossal Boy, Phantom Girl, or even Ultra Boy could prevail against them. They made a good showing. But the Legion eight went down to defeat. Luckily, the threesome spared their lives, as per Mordru's wishes. They were imprisoned within the defense center at Winath. 

But Tellus, a telepath, had sent an account of the disastrous fight to Saturn Girl, who acknowledged it. Her message: sit tight until the Fatal Five were on their way back to Takron-Galtos in a United Planets "con space" craft, and they would come. They were forewarned of Zoom's and Krellik's powers. 

That still left only a token force of Legionnaires on Earth. 

By that time, Mordru had already come and gone. 

They probably wouldn't have made much difference, anyway. 

-S- 

In Legion H.Q., Brainiac 5, Supergirl, Dev-Em, Laurel Kent, and Dream Girl were listening to the White Witch's briefing on the Devil's Emerald. 

"First, you must understand these concepts," said Mysa, the White Witch. "As Supergirl overheard, in the worlds of higher magic, whether a power object exists before its conception, or comes into being when an entity of great power conceives it, is still undetermined. Whether I believe in the varied mythos or not, sometimes an entity can bring them into existence, independent of our belief." 

"So the Emerald might not exist, until Mordru brings it into being." 

"Or it may, Kara, or Mordru may not be able to successfully conceive it into existence," Mysa explained. "Belief is more powerful than even priests can imagine." 

Brainiac 5 said nothing. His head was resting on his hands, and he gave Mysa his full attention. Supergirl had seen that expression before. He was soaking up data faster than a mainframe computer. Even if he didn't like or trust magic, he was learning something new. That was Brainy's favorite activity. 

Dev sat silently, and his expression was hard to read. Laurel was clutching her arms and breathing a bit heavily. Kara didn't blame the girl for being spooked. Kryptonians were not only vulnerable to magic, it was one of their most common phobias. 

For good reason, she thought. 

"So what's the story on this thing?" said Kara. "Is it an Earth legend?" 

The antennaed sorceress turned to her. "Yes, but the basics are on many other worlds as well. In many religions, including Christianity, there is the story of Lucifer's rebellion against the Creator, and his exile from Heaven. A few legends state that an emerald fell from his brow, with a great deal of his power imbued in it. This is not stated in the Bible of the Jews or Christians...it's just a legend. Which, as I've said, may be conceived into fact." 

"So Mordru can, like, warp reality at the level he's gotten up to?" said Laurel. 

"Politicians do it all the time," said Dev. 

Dream Girl smirked, and even Kara was glad for the momentary release of tension. 

"Okay, and both Brainiac and I know about the Helmet of Order," Supergirl said. "You say there's another helmet? One pertaining to Chaos?" 

Nura nodded. "Yes. The Order Helmet belonged to your Dr. Fate of Earth-Two. He made no more crossings into our dimension after the Magic War, so we know nothing more of it from that point onward." 

"Magic War?" said Kara. 

Brainiac, the student of heroic history, explained. "Briefly, Kara, it was a great conflict of sorcerors from our dimension and others. You may yet live to see it...it involved many of the heroic and villainous magicians of your time. Dr. Fate, the Spectre, John Constantine, Timothy Hunter, the Phantom Stranger and the like. There are rumors that Mordru appeared briefly during that war, but I've yet to confirm it." 

"Something to look forward to, Kara," noted Dev. 

She gave him a sardonic look, then turned back to Brainy. "Was the Chaos Helmet ever reported in use? In this dimension, or any other?" 

Nura shrugged. "I'm not sure. Your Dr. Fate was a hero. Perhaps the 'Dr. Chaos' was a villain--" 

"Great Rao!" Kara shouted, slapping her hands down on the table in surprise and almost splintering it. "Dr. Chaos! I've heard that name...let me think a moment." 

Dream Girl stopped Mysa from going over to Supergirl. "She's got super-memory, sister. She doesn't need your magical memory probe." 

"Just so," said Mysa. 

Supergirl closed her eyes and probed back through her memory bank. Someone had mentioned that name to her...she traded gossip with so many heroes. It was a game they played quite often, both to keep others in their business aware of potential foes and as a way of bragging, though few acknowledged the latter. Thanks to her powers of Total Recall, if she tried hard enough, she could remember almost everything up to the moment when she left the womb. 

There it was. 

"Dr. Chaos," said Supergirl, her eyes still closed. "Kal told me. He fought him when he was Superboy. He had a yellow and blue suit, a blue helmet...like Dr. Fate's colors in reverse. Kal took the helmet and wound it up in copper, which was proof against its magic. Then, he told me he cast it in a block of copper and buried it under the Fortress of Solitude years later. That was the end of it, he thought. Dr. Chaos never came back." 

Dev was up from his seat. "Then let's go to the Fortress," he said. "We all know where that is." 

Brainy stood up as well. "Kara, if you'd stay here," he asked. "You might learn some things of your future life..." 

"I will not stay here," she said. "And you can hypnotize me later. Let's go." 

"Just a minute," said Dream Girl. "Mysa, can you interpret my dream? The yin-yang one?" 

The White Witch shook her head. "I don't have the slightest, right now." 

Laurel said, "That's all right. Let's hit the Fortress." 

-S- 

"Oh, Rao," said Kara, a few minutes later, towing Brainiac 5 and White Witch in her cape. "Oh, great Rao, look what he did." 

Dev, with Dream Girl and Laurel in tow, shielded by Laurel's cape, didn't say a word as he set them down. He just looked out at the snowy expanse of chaos, saw the splintered building wreckage, the twisted signs, the twisted bodies reddening the ice, the few rescue vehicles using force-beams to go after survivors. 

And all of them heard the screaming, the crying, the cursing, the weeping, and the praying. 

Without a word, Kara and Dev leaped into action. 

Their heat-vision melted ice trapping people beneath its bulk. Their powerful arms dug tourists out of danger spots, lifted debris and hurled it aside, gently but super-swiftly carried the victims to hospital ships hovering in the area. The authorities were astounded at the mighty helping hands that were turned to their aid. 

Some protective bubbles of force had been activated automatically by the blast's impact...more or less the 30th Century's version of airbags in a car. Many people huddled within such bubbles, and were safe, though still terrified. When the strange blurs outside slowed enough for them to get a glimpse of the man and woman who made them, particularly when they saw the red, yellow, and blue of Supergirl's uniform, some were comforted. 

But many were dead, and many were dying, and many more were somewhere in between. 

Of the latter two categories, Supergirl and Dev-Em brought more than a few to the spot where Brainiac 5, Laurel, Dream Girl, and White Witch stood, and had Mysa perform a kind of magical hands-laying that helped sustain their lives, and helped counteract their injuries. Mysa performed the rite again and again, her eyes tearing from emotion and exertion. Over 100 people gained her help. Like a nurse in a MASH tent, Mysa didn't dare dwell too much on the torn-up bodies she saw. The horror, the nausea, all of that would have to wait. Nura knelt beside her and offered comfort to both Mysa and the victims. 

Mysa made it to about victim 133 before she threw up. 

She wiped her mouth. Dream Girl held her arm and said, "Mysa, it's all right to stop now. You've done all you can." 

"Like Tartarus, sister," said Mysa. "Just help me over to the next one." 

Laurel Kent went to a spot that Dev and Kara had not yet covered and tried to roll away a support pillar that was pinning several screaming people to the ground. She dug her bare feet into the tundra, gritted her teeth, closed her eyes, and pushed. The muscles of her half-clad body, particularly in her arms, stood out in relief as she exerted her power. It just had to work...she was needed... 

Supergirl whizzed up and shoved the pillar away with a single thrust. "Help me get these people to a ship, Laurel," she said. "You've got a flight ring." 

"Dammit," snapped Laurel, as she wrapped her arms around a moaning businessman and took flight. "Why wasn't I born with strength?" 

Brainiac, not far away, talking with a rescue officer, heard Laurel's words. While one part of his mind and his mouth worked on outlining a way to deal with the problem, another part began analyzing Laurel's problem. Between point A and point B, her present condition and what she wanted to be, he built hypothetical bridges, multiples at a time, tore them down with logic, built them up again. 

He vowed he'd have an answer for her. 

Dev-Em's face was made of stone. He rescued almost as many people as Mordru had destroyed. His comments to the Terran Emergency Operations people were curt and to the point. But he pushed himself, and there are few things more awesome than a man with the power of a Kryptonian when he pushes himself. He was filling the hospital vans, depositing others before doctors' triages, taking still others to Mysa and Nura. 

And despite his stony visage, no one who saw him thought that he was not affected by what he saw. 

Supergirl held back her tears. She was possibly the most sensitive, the most caring of all the El family, and it was hard for her to do. But Kal had trained her well about keeping her emotions in check, at least the part that would interfere with her work, when there was an important job to be done. And none, to her, was more important than saving lives. 

So she dug men, women, and children out of stony debris, cauterized wounds with heat-vision, pounded hearts back to life, breathed air back into deflated lungs, tried to keep people from going into shock, and wouldn't even touch the part of her that said, No matter what you do, some of these will die. 

Minutes later, Dream Girl helped a thoroughly exhausted White Witch to a medical tent. The sorceress was spent, exhausted. A doctor with yellow skin and four arms looked at both of them and said, "I'm sorry, miss, but I can't spare medicine for her right now." 

"The hell with you!" snapped Nura. "All I want is a place for my sister to rest!" 

The doctor stepped back. Nura fireman-carried her sister to one of the few empty cots in the 144-bed tent. She lay Mysa atop it, removed her sister's shoes, and tucked her in. "S'ter, get me up," mumbled Mysa. "People. Need hands." 

A floating monitor-nurse, half the size of a breadbox, whisked up, buoyed by tractor beams, and hovered over Mysa's cot. The simulated face of a Terran doctor was showing on its screen. "Problems, ladies?" it said, in a well-modulated voice. 

Dream Girl looked at it for two breaths. Then she said, "Get me a hot drink. Get my sister a relaxant." 

The monitor sped off to do just that. 

Nura collapsed over her sister's stomach and started crying. 

Outside, the heroes had done about as much as they could do. The Service Commander was talking with Brainiac, and Laurel, Kara, and Dev showed up individually during the conversation. 

"We're damned glad for your help," allowed Commander Shen. "But I didn't think they'd gotten word to you so fast." 

"They didn't," said Brainiac, simply. "We were too late." 

Shen cocked his head at Brainiac. "What's that? You knew this was going to happen?" 

Laurel piped up, "We didn't get it figured out in time. If we had, we could have shown up maybe, like, before it happened. But we didn't get it figured." 

Dev wasn't saying anything. 

Kara alighted among the small gathering, burning the bloodstains of victims off her hands and uniform with her heat vision. Shen, a small Asian man, said, "You're Supergirl. Aren't you? Well, never mind, can some of you tell me what happened here?" 

"Mordru," said Kara.   
Dev lifted his head. The glare in his eyes bordered on madness. Kara went over to him, but before she had taken a step, he had thrown back his head and was shouting. 

"MORDRU! YOU BABOOTCH-WHELPED SON OF A BITCH, WHERE ARE YOU?" 

The cry was heard for miles and echoed for minutes. If the ground hadn't been relatively level, it might have triggered avalanches. 

"YOU DID THIS JUST TO PICK UP A PIECE OF JUNK! YOU KILLED PEOPLE TO PICK UP A PIECE OF GARBAGE! WELL, WE'RE HERE! COME BACK AND FACE US, YOU COWARD!" 

"Dev, please--" said Kara. Brainiac grasped her shoulder, and she held back. 

"YOU COWAAARD!" 

Laurel, clad in nothing but her black bikini and cape, went over and held him. "Just let it drain, Dev. I'm here, just let it drain." 

Brainiac and Kara looked at each other for an instant, then snapped their gaze back to Dev and Laurel. His head was buried in her shoulder. 

It wasn't possible for Supergirl to tell from that angle whether or not he was crying. 

She didn't use her super-hearing.   


Brainiac got a call on his Legion communicator from Dawnstar, who had stayed behind to mind the store. "Brainy, we've got a message from Saturn Girl," she said. "It doesn't look good." 

"What?" he said. 

"It's a relay of a message from Tellus," she said, and explained what had become of the Legion force on Winath and what had been reported of their three foes. "The group on Saturn is going on a rescue mission. We're on our own." 

"Delightful," said Brainy, evenly. 

Dawnstar hesitated. "I guess that means things aren't going well where you're at," she offered. 

"We were late," he said. "I'll brief you about it when we come back. Give us an hour. Out." 

The communicator winked off. Commander Shen stood before Brainiac. "What was this Mordru after, here?" 

Brainiac looked at him, tiredly. 

"Something to put on his head," he said. 

Dev had finally let go of Laurel when Kara took his hand and led him off to a place outside the perimeter of activity. Laurel gave Kara a meaningful look and let them go. 

The ex-knave of Krypton straightened a bit, but only a bit, and didn't look at Kara while they were walking. She sat him on a snow-covered rock, walked a few paces away, rolled a mass of snow into a ball with her hands and cooled it into rough ice with her super-breath. Then she sat down on it, legs crossed, and waited for Dev to speak. 

"I've made myself a perfect ass," he said. 

"No, you haven't," said Kara, quietly. 

His hands rubbed the back of his neck. It kept his head down and kept him from having to look at her. "Right, little kid screaming in the snow. 'It just ain't fair, it just ain't fair.' Really going to help things like that, eh?" Dev snorted. "Yeah." 

"Oh, Dev, stop it!" snapped Kara. "What you showed me a few minutes ago was the best thing I've ever seen from you. You saved several hundred individual lives. You brought a whole bunch of people back from the verge of death. You were like a one-man salvation crew out there, and I'm proud of you." 

"You did it, too." 

"Let me talk! We're talking about you, Dev." She uncrossed her legs, her hands resting on her knees. "You were right to be mad at me about blowing the mission. But now I know why. It's because you can't stand to see all those people killed, can you? The big picture." 

Dev's hands came off his neck. He clenched them, resting his forearms on his knees. "Tell me, commander. You've got all the answers now." 

Supergirl grimaced. "I feel like slapping you again. If I didn't love you more now than I ever have before, I'd do it. I--" 

Her hand went to her mouth. Dev looked at her. His expression was caught coming up from anguish into hope. 

"So you said it," he murmured. 

Kara was flustered. She looked down at her lap, put her hand down, fumbled with her flight ring just to have something to do. 

"Yeah, well...now you wanna tell me why you joined the UPIC?" 

Dev looked at her curiously, and then laughed, hard and long. 

"Oh, Sheol," he said, still laughing. "She tells me she loves me, then she wants me to talk about my career. How's that for romance, Kara?" 

She chuckled. "So I'm awkward with romance. Doesn't change the fact that you look a hell of a lot better now that I've seen some human concern under your hard candy shell. Talk to me." 

Dev smiled, tightly. "All right. All right, Karaish, or Karaian if you prefer, let me tell you the story." 

"Try Karaish." 

"All right, Karaish...it goes back a few years to this punk kid, Dev-Em by name, a budding anarchist with a tube of acne cream in his belt pack. He was smart enough--I was smart enough--to rig up an alien shelter with rockets and get himself and his parents off Krypton just before the thing, uh..." 

Kara shifted position on her ice seat. She studied Dev's expression, all the stress it registered. It was never easy for Kryptonian survivors to talk about the Destruction. And, unlike her, Dev had been born on Krypton. 

"Before the planet exploded, Dev," she said, to help him out. 

"Right, right," he sighed. "Oh, Rao, where to start? Well. You probably know about the gag I played on your cousin. I mean, this three-year-old kid whom I used to get in trouble had become the greatest hero on his new planet. Think that didn't make me jealous? If you do, you don't know me, or the 'me' I was, worth a damn. Am I still coming across, Kara?" He looked at her, with, for once, a pleading expression on his face. 

"You're doing fine, Dev. Keep going." 

Dev got up, started walking around, not looking at her very much. "So, all right, I played the prank, I almost got little Kal-El in trouble again, and I took off for the future with my parents, who were still in that bally alien shelter. Why did I choose this century? Well, when I was pretending I was Superboy, I checked out his house with my trusty x-rays, and I found out about this Legion of Super-Heroes thing. 30th Century. Why not? By then, maybe Earth would be an interesting place." 

"You didn't find it interesting in Superboy's time?" said Kara. 

"Interesting? Hell, no! So backward they didn't even have personal CompUnits, meat animals from Genetix, a Fire Falls, a Scarlet Jungle...any of that. You and Kal adapted. I never could. But maybe Earth in 1,000 years would be worth getting an apartment in. 

"Well..." He sighed, stopped, faced Kara, spread his hands in helplessness. "Well, imagine this. I take the alien shelter to this time, and get my mom and dad out of suspended an. It was on the outskirts of Metropolis Greater Spaceport. By the time my folks came out of the vapors, started breathing, and started hugging themselves and me and crying, a whole horde of Science Cops were coming through the door and wanting to know what the hell was going on, who we were, and why we had suddenly appeared from out of nowhere in a medium-security area of the 'port. Luckily, they still spoke English that I could recognize, even though one of those cops had eight eyes and held his blaster in a tentacle. 

"So I plastered this dumb grin on my face, the one I always practiced in the mirror for when I met a mark, and said something like, 'We are from Krypton, from about 1,000 years ago. We come in peace.' Not exactly that, but something like it. 

"And all of a sudden the head cop stiffens and the rest drop back. Mom and Dad and I looked at each other, like, they don't enjoy Kryptonians here? I mean, we could have taken on every one of them, and everybody in the whole spaceport, too, but that's not what we do. And me, I was a con man...maybe I am a con man...but I'm not a thug, or a killer. So when they do a short bit in whispers, and then the head cop said, 'Come with me,' we came with him. And they sent us all through Alien Processing. 

"Okay. Upshot of this is, they learned we were Kryptonian. They gave us Truth Analyzer tests and found out yes, we really were from the past. But you know how the law is here, Kara...Krypts and Daxamites are not allowed off-planet without a permit. Right? And, when they learned we were Kryptonians, they had to learn what kind of Kryptonians we were." 

Dev folded his arms, kept walking back and forth, thinking of what he had to say next. Kara said, "So how did they find out, Dev?" 

He looked at her. "They put a call through to Rokyn. And you know how nuts Kryptonians are for history, Kara. Even for Krypts on other planets, like you and Kal. I mean, they have whole history departments just devoted to Kal, and you, and even the damn dog and monkey, and the Great Confrontation--" 

Dev stopped, and quietly brought his hands together in front of his nose. "Uh, do you forget what you learn of your future when you go home, Kara?" 

"Not unless I want to, Dev," said Kara. "I take it this 'Great Confrontation' was--" 

"Let's press on," said Dev, overriding her words. "So they put through the information request for data on Dev-Em, Ron-Em, and Leeta. And they got it. They summoned all three of us to the office of an immigration inspector. Two of us checked out all right. Guess which one they didn't like so well?" 

His face showed the regret. Kara said, "Go on, Dev. It's all right. Just go ahead." 

Dev looked her straight in the eyes. "It was the first time my parents had ever heard what a nasty little bastard I had really turned out to be. Thief. Industrial spy. Vandal. Juvenile delinquent. Even caused a mean bit of trouble for Superboy I, their Favorite Son through the ages. My dad grabbed the desk he was sitting at when he heard it all, not even thinking, and broke it. Vanadium steel. He broke it like it was toasted bread. Hardly knew he was doing it. My mom, well, she was hysterical. I can still hear her: 'You're wrong! You've made a mistake! You're lying! That's not my boy! That's not my boy!' Dad had to grab her, shake her, to keep her from tearing up the whole building. 

"So the imm authority looks at me and says, 'Well, Immigrant Em, is this a substantially true record? Are you guilty of these actions?' 

"For a second--for a second, I thought I could pull off another con. Hell, you know me, I'd done it before, gotten out of dozens of fixes, just dumb-grinned my way out of it. I could've said, 'Sir, there's obviously been a mix-up in the records. I mean, me, a crook? It's been a thousand years since Superboy's time, and you can't tell me that records they got from that far back are accurate,' and all. I might have been able to do it. I might have made Mom quite relieved, if they'd bought it. 

"But I just--" Dev swallowed, looking at Kara but not seeing her. "I just--my Dad was there, and he looked at me, and he could tell I was about to lie, all of a sudden he knew what I'd been into for all those times...he only heard about one or two of the cases, when the cops brought me home, but now he knew about so much more, and...ah, hell, I couldn't lie. Because...well...look. This was a new planet, a new time. My folks, they had a right to make it. They were the people I made sure survived with me. I may have been a son of a babootch, Kara, but I love my parents. I really do. Even if I put them through hell." 

"So you didn't lie," said Kara. 

Dev said, "No. No, I didn't lie. Told him the truth. 'Yes, sir, the record is basically accurate,' I said. And Mom started crying harder than before. The imm guy said, 'The planet of Rokyn has been settled by Kryptonian survivors. Immigrants Roz-Em and Leeta, you will be relocated there tomorrow. But your son will have to be detained, till a decision can be made in his case.' And he told the guards to take my folks away. Mom was still crying, telling them it still had to be a mistake. And Dad was holding her, and he flashed me a look...he didn't hate me. But, dammit, Kara, you know it when your Dad's telling you, the hardest way he can: I'm ashamed of you. He doesn't have to use words. It just hurts." 

Kara put her hands on his shoulders. "I'm sorry, Dev. You can stop now if you want, I--" 

"No," said Dev, controlling himself. He grasped Kara's shoulders himself. "Thanks for being here, Kara. I mean that. But let me finish up, okay? 

"So the guys came in with their low-level Kryptonite cuffs and slapped them on me. First time I'd ever felt Kryptonite. I was scared as hell. I said, 'What are you guys doing to me?' I mean, my strength, my powers, it was like somebody turning a bath valve and all of that was draining out. The imm guy said, 'Just Kryptonite, Immigrant Em. It will dampen your powers for awhile, but the gradation isn't strong enough to seriously harm you.' And they led me off, and put me in a holding cell. Wham, the door shuts, I'm there. Heh. Things really hadn't changed a lot in a thousand years. 

"And for a few days, that's where I stayed. Three square meals molecularly reassembled per day, all the vids I want to watch, all the books I want to read or hear or see simmed, restricted info hookup...and those damn cuffs on my wrists, and the camera watching even when I have to use the flusher. 

"Finally, this guy comes in, flanked by several guards who have these lead containers in their hands. I know there's Kryptonite inside them, I can figure it out, and I can bet that it's the kind that'll kill me if they pop 'em open. I'm not dumb, so I don't make any stupid moves. 

"The guy is about 5' 6", no hair on top, kind of fat, but his face tells me he's not going to take any crap from me and I don't feel like handing it out. All I want to do is get out of those cuffs and out of that cell. He knows it, too. 

"He tells me he's from the UPIC, the United Planets Intelligence Corps. He knows my record and says that he might have a job for me, if I qualify. If I decide not to, I can stay in that cell until they decide to send me to a Rokyn prison. If I decide to, I get out, with those K-guards and a Truth Analyzer on hand at all times during my training to keep me on the straight-up, and my folks get told that I'm starting to make good. He says they want me to try the spy game. I say I'm up for it. I'm up for anything that'd get me out of that damned cell. So he says, we can get you out of the cell. But the cuffs stay on for awhile. How long awhile?, I ask him. He says, 'When I say so. Now put your face here.' He holds up a Retina Plate. I get my eye laser-scanned. Then he hands me an IdentiCard, with the big red PROVISIONAL 1 right across it. And he turns and walks out. Doesn't say a word, doesn't look behind him. 

"But the K-guards stood there, with the door open, looking at me. I finally said, 'It's okay for me to go now?' They said I was catchin' on. So I stood up, and went with them, and we caught a TransPort to a UPIC training center. And that's where it started, and a month later I was out of those cuffs. And a month after that, I was doing my interview with one of the chief reps of the company. I passed, solid. I had a lot of good working skills for the company. 

"My parents got told I was working out nicely. I got messages from them, censored. From me, they got back stuff through channels: 'Your son thanks you for the communique of last Friday, blah blah blah, wishing you the very best, sincerely, on behalf of, Dev-Em.'" He paused. 

"But I made it work, Kara. And it got to be a gas, it really did. I'm too sawed-off to be one of your Legionnaires. I like conning the bad guys, putting it all on the line, making off with the goodies like Sprite-of-the-Morning. Hell, I even love the price some of 'em have on my head. But..." 

Kara, still holding him, finally said, "But what, Dev?" 

He exhaled again, heavily. "But I haven't seen my parents since that day we were separated, Kara. And I'm told my mother is dead." 

She embraced him tightly. Very tightly. He wasn't crying. But from the strength of his hug, and the sounds she could detect, she knew he was hard-pressed to hold himself back. 

"Rao, I love you," he whispered. 

-S- 

Satan Girl, Black Adam, and Ar-Ual had each received a psychic summons from Mordru and were assembled in his throne room. Satan Girl sported a bluish bruise on her cheek and glared at the other two, daring them to say anything about it. They didn't, but neither of them suppressed their sardonic grins. Drang stood nearby, saying nothing. 

Mordru appeared to them, warping in so quickly even super-senses couldn't track his materialization. He wore the blue Chaos Helmet on his head, and the wizard's hat over that. Black Adam thought it looked stupid, but from the power Mordru was radiating, he dared not even hold the thought for very long. Drang, feeling the degree of magic, prostrated himself. 

I will undertake the next phase of my quest directly afterward,> he sent to all of them. Drang will rule this world in my abscence, and under my authority. You have personal tasks, and you will accomplish them, and keep them secret from each other. I will convey to your minds the methods to be used in your undertakings.> 

Dread lord, please, your sending hurts me,> said Ar-Ual. Kryptonians and magic never got along very well. 

Ignoring her plea, Mordru sent her a private message. You will destroy Daxam,> he said. 

To Black Adam, he PM'ed: You will destroy Rokyn.> 

And to Satan Girl, he sent a message that invoked from her the wickedest grin either of the other two had seen on a human face before. 

Tomorrow, you will battle and destroy the Supergirl.>   



	10. Chapter 10

hells10a Supergirl and the Legion of Super-Heroes:   
Hellsister: Part 10   
by DarkMark 

The six Legion members and adherents materialized from the space warp on Earth-Two just outside of Salem, Massachusets. The Tower of Fate stood before them. 

White Witch still looked haggard. It had been only a few hours since their grim episode in the Arctic. 

Brainiac 5 asked her, quietly, "Do you sense anything from the tower, Mysa?" 

She shook her head, her antennae whipping a bit. The dark circles under her eyes indicated what she had just been through, and she suspected that worse was yet to come. "I can't pick up an emanation. If the Fate Helmet were within, it'd be going off like a beacon." 

"Maybe I should take a look," said Supergirl, and flew towards the doorless and windowless edifice. 

"Kara, don't," said Dev. He was too late. The girl in the blue, red, and yellow costume contacted the stone of the tower wall and bounced off like a tennis ball. Kara flopped down on the grass surrounding it, landing on her red-clad kiester. She huffed. 

"Magic," she said. "Even without the helmet, there's magic there. I can't get in." 

Dream Girl said, "Can you, Mysa?" 

Laurel Kent, helping White Witch with a supporting arm, said, "She'd better not. She's expended so much power already, and she's got to get us back, too." 

Mysa took a deep breath and threw her head back. "I shall try." She walked to the tower's wall, and then flowed into it as if she were stepping through an illusion. Kara's mouth twitched. 

A few seconds later, the sorceress reappeared. "He's gone," said Mysa. "No clues, but he doesn't need to cover his tracks anymore." 

Kara looked at Brainiac 5. "How are we supposed to stop him now?" she said. 

The green-fleshed youth looked more sullen than she had ever seen him before. "Let's go home," he said. "I'll think about it." 

Mysa opened her space-warp again and they stepped through it into their own Earth. 

-S- 

On Winath, the Legionnaire cruiser with the second Legion team was in fixed orbit. The reason why they had not stormed the Planetary Defense Center was simple. On one of the holoscreens of their craft, a 3-D image of Tyr holding a gun to Colossal Boy's head was visible, with Krellik and Zoom threatening other bound Legionnaires. 

"Land and we kill them, heroes," smiled Krellik. "The Coin of Loki lets me sense your approach. Zoom is able to act more quickly than even Mon-El could imagine. Tyr has enough firepower to wipe out all these underage idiots. Keep your distance...and they keep their heads." 

Lightning Lad looked at Element Lad. "What's the plan?" 

"Wait," said El Lad, grimly. "We sit and we wait." 

And we pray that Kara's group has made a breakthrough, he thought. 

-S- 

The plan for Daxam's destruction was simplicity itself, given the Daxamites' weakness to lead. Expose a Daxamite to lead and he or she was dead, period. You could take them any distance away from the leaden object you wanted, catapult them into another universe, even, and they'd still die. That was how badly they reacted to the stuff. 

Mon-El had nearly died of lead exposure in his first encounter with Superboy. The only way he was saved was by being projected into the Phantom Zone. He spent 1,000 years among ghost-like criminals before Brainiac 5 found a serum that would cure him. Green Kryptonite was its main active ingredient. Supplied with that, Mon-El had emerged from the Zone and become a pillar of the Legion. If he stopped taking it at regular intervals, he was a goner. 

There was not enough Green Kryptonite in existence to proof all the inhabitants of Daxam from lead poisoning, should the whole planet be threatened by lead. 

A very large asteroid existed, circling an alien sun, with a veritable sea of molten lead upon it. A millenium before, Superboy had borrowed some of it to cover the Kryptonite statues of his ancestors from his family crypt, which had been blown intact into outer space. He had only taken a little of the asteroid's store. 

Ar-Ual looked upon the asteroid, from her position in deep space, and hesitated. She was more a thief than anything else. Murdering Superman after marrying him was one thing. But mass-murdering a planetful of people? That was an idea she wasn't exactly hot on-- 

A hot electrical pulse of absolute pain surged through her body. She screamed silently, throwing her head back, her tortured features made chiaroscuro by the distant sun of that system. 

It was a fail-safe device Mordru had instilled in her when he imparted unto her the plan for Daxam's destruction. As it made her writhe, she knew its source and purpose. 

Within minutes, the pain abated. Ar-Ual tried to gasp for breath, but there was no breath to be had. Sweat globuled off her body and spun into the darkness. For the first time, Ar-Ual had hard evidence of what it would be like for her to defy Mordru. 

She didn't like it very much. 

Gingerly, Ar-Ual twisted her body back into a more normal posture, and floated purposefully to the asteroid. 

She laid hands upon it, saw its huge surface--miles and miles across--and the sea of lead, made molten in some way she knew not how, filling the huge depression from its surface to well within the halfway point of the asteroid's depth. 

Ar-Ual nudged the asteroid, making sure to keep the molten sea within it, and laid a firmer grip on its outer edge with her powerful hands. 

Even at super-speed, the warp she needed to reach would be a few days' journey. Then she could push this thing into Daxam's atmosphere, even if she had to fight off some battlecruisers on patrol around the planet, and her work would be done. 

Unless Mordru had somebody else he wanted her to kill... 

Grimly, Ar-Ual sped up with her burden. 

-S- 

Satan Girl sped through the blackness of space. She needed something to do. 

True, probably within the span of a day she'd finally be battling--no, destroying!--her sister-self, and that thought was a turn-on to eclipse any of the disappointments she'd had recently. Well, that and the fact of what else Mordru had communicated to her, and what, by now, she knew herself to be true. 

But she wasn't one to stand idle for a whole day and wait for Supergirl to be brought to her. No matter where she was, she and the blonde bitch would be brought together for conflict. The anticipation was torquing her up too much. She wanted something to loosen her up. 

The purple-clad woman's eyes scanned the nearby sector of space and found just what she wanted: a comet. 

Comets are mainly dirty balls of ice with gas trails streaming out behind them. But they pack incredible power in their mass, if they chance to hit something. 

An incredible explosion had occurred on Earth in 1909, in a region of Siberia. No one had ever really proven what had done it, but the prevailing theories suggested that a comet head had impacted there. Satan Girl decided to try out the theory. Mordru didn't want her doing anything devastating to the Zeroxians, but he hadn't ruled out other worlds' inhabitants. 

A suitable world was within reasonable distance. Satan Girl accelerated her flight velocity, passing lightspeed easily. She approached the comet, entered it from the tail area just behind the head, and laid hands easily on the icy surface, steering it in the proper direction, adding her great speed to it, and trusting that she could move it fast enough before the strains of acceleration broke the comet head apart. 

The world Satan Girl had chosen was advanced to more or less the stage Earth had been in the 20th Century's second decade. Mechanical carriages had been perfected. Electricity had been harnessed. A form of instant communication was being established. Wars had been fought, but the people of that planet felt nonetheless that a grand new age of progress was upon them. 

Satan Girl hurled the comet at the world's capital city. 

The flash of its approach was too fast even for most astronomers on that planet to note it. But those at a far enough distance from it did see a light bright enough to register even in broad daylight. Few at ground zero had a chance to realize that their lives were about to end. 

The impact dwarfed the greatest nuclear bombs, though that world was far away from developing them. Millions died. A crater many miles across was formed. The pile of dust and debris raised by the impact spread and caused an artificial winter over most of the continent. Crops died. Chaos reigned. The people of that world believed it a judgment of God, and, out of terror and a wish to be able to do something, declared other nations or peoples to have brought the judgment upon them, and made vicious war against them. Those nations responded in kind. Before long, the planet's surface was soaked in blood. 

That would take some weeks to happen. 

For her part, Satan Girl examined the planet's surface with her telescopic vision, critically. She did feel somewhat more at ease. Given the fact of her artificially accelerating the comet, and subtracting that from the total impact--well, it was probable that Siberia had been hit by a comet head in 1909. 

It was nice to have the power to work these things out for oneself, she thought. 

-S- 

Black Adam sought the pragmatism in his soul as he ripped through the dimensional void. Killing billions of people was a crime beyond even his scope. Necessary murder, yes, but subjects should be ruled, not fed to the underworld en masse. 

A brief stabbing pain up and down his spine reminded him of the price for disobedience. All right, then, do the task and worry about it later. After all, he was only an instrument. The mass murder would properly have to be laid at Mordru's feet, not his own. 

Before him loomed the Rock of Eternity, the abode of the gods and of Shazam. He grinned thinly and considered paying the old wizard a call. But it probably would be for naught. If the wizard's shade still existed, he might yet have power to transform him into the merely human Teth-Adam. And there were possibly gods on hand to deal with. No, best do what had to be done and get on with it. 

There. There it was. 

The small white bird had sharpened its beak at the Rock of Eternity. It did this once every hundred thousand years. When the Rock was worn away by such sharpenings, it would be a sign that one day of Eternity had gone by. Or so the legends went. Whether a new Rock would appear directly thereafter, the legends did not say. 

Black Adam soared directly for the white bird. It perceived him. Instead of trying to avoid him, it came towards him...and its talons seemed more huge than he would have imagined. 

Admittedly, this would take some finesse. A small bit of the Eternity Rock jutted from the bird's mouth. Black Adam drew on his Mercury-like speed and used one hand to grasp the jutting edge of Rock. He silently swore and screamed as the bird's talons raked his arm...this was no mere Earth-bird!...but, seconds later, he fell away from it. 

Within his hand was a small fragment of Eternity Rock, broken off from the larger bit in the bird's mouth. Barely enough to cover the tip of a thumb, but sufficient for what he had to do. 

The bird was coming for him now, and Black Adam did not want to contemplate what it could do to him. He was powerful, but there were power levels far beyond his own...perhaps even beyond Mordru's. But he knew his way around these parts. 

The Rock of Eternity was a junction to all times and places for those who knew how to use it. He flew back towards it, angled off at just the precise trajectory, and found himself in yet another place...though he could not have said if another time existed in this new locale. 

Most of it was black void, except for what he perceived as the Cosmic Axis. 

This he perceived as a great, shimmering shaft of white, turning majestically upon an unseen base. It was said to be the mainspring of the Multiverse, keeping dimensional barriers whole, shifting phaseworlds through different realms. 

Rokyn had been such a phaseworld, until several hundred years before the Legion's time. The star-sun of Dakkam, the world with which it traded places, had gone nova. The scientists of Rokyn had analyzed the sputtering star when they were within its space, learned of its impending explosion, and devised a means of keeping their world out of phase with Dakkam's universe. That was wise, as the star went nova within a hundred years of their doing so. 

Black Adam, matching his speed to that of the turning Axis, placed the small bit of the Eternity Rock in just the place that Mordru had instructed him to put it. Then he flew out of range of the Axis's mighty sweep. 

The wobble of the Axis would have been imperceptible to a mortal, but Black Adam could detect it. 

Rokyn would begin going out of phase with the Earth-One universe within hours. It would spend some time in sub-space. 

Then it would phase into the hot plasma fury of Dakkam's expanded nova star. 

An instant after that, there would be no more Rokyn. 

Black Adam retraced his flight back to the Eternity Rock, and thence back to the space of Zerox. 

He returned to the apartment Mordru had created for him, and spent many minutes alone in meditation. 

-S- 

Mon-El got tired of waiting. "We've got too many hostages in there, Imra," he snapped, facing her in the control center of the Legion cruiser. "They may be tough, but I've got to chance it." 

"You will not," said Saturn Girl, emphatically. "One of those three is almost Krypton-class, and his power source is magic. You're vulnerable to that. Another has the speed of the ancient Flash. That puts his top achievable velocity above yours. You might be able to take out Tyr, if you got to him first. But who do you think the other two are protecting? And who do you think has that gun-hand of his trained on our fellow Legionnaires?" 

Mon-El swept his arm back angrily, and the air-rush almost blew Cosmic Boy and Sun Boy over. "I know all of that, Imra. But if I could break in there, grab some of our people, and get back out, don't you think it'd be worth it?" 

Magnetic Kid, Cosmic Boy's kid brother, was nerved. The Legionnaires, those avatars that his big brother had been great enough not only to be among, but to found, were always his idols, the overbeings he thought he would never be able to equal. To be chosen as one of their newest members, well, that was an unbelievable trip. But to see Mon-El, their mightiest member, starting to lose it, and Saturn Girl arguing with him...it was like knowing his homeworld of Braal had broken out of orbit and was spinning madly into its sun. 

Lightning Lad spoke up, standing just behind Saturn Girl. "Mon, you're just letting off pressure, and we both know it. There's no way you could outspeed that Zoom guy, or face up to Krellik's magic. So cool it down--" 

"Those are Legionnaires in there!" yelled Mon. 

"And there are other Legionnaires in here," said Cosmic Boy, loudly. "And so far, none of them in either place has been killed yet. Want to change that? Then go down there, Mon, and find out." 

The red-and-blue-clad hero glowered, but said nothing. 

Lightning Lad continued, "Here's the scoop. They haven't killed any Legionnaires yet because they know if they do, we're going to jump in like a thunderbolt in heat. So long as we stay here, we guarantee that Jo, Vi, Tellus, Gim, and all the rest will stay healthy. Well, it's not a guarantee, but it's very likely. So they can't do anything, either." 

Lightning Lass said, "Flaw in that reasoning, Garth: you're assuming that Tyr and company are as rational as we are. Also that we can afford to stay here that long...also that they won't kill one of the Legionnaires to make their point." 

Blok offered, "We could teleport some of our squad to another section of the planet, and try a lateral attack while they're watching this ship." 

Element Lad spoke, for the first time in the exchange. "Nice try, Blok, but I doubt it. The Defense Center of Winath is hooked into satellite cams that cover the whole planet. They probably could detect us when we touched down. Also, Krellik seems to have some way of sensing attacks before they come. At least, that's what Tellus sent to us before they conked him. We need something else. We need a wild card." 

Blok, Cosmic Boy, Magnetic Kid, Lightning Lad, Lightning Lass, Saturn Girl, Mon-El, and Sun Boy all looked at their leader. 

Then Magnetic Kid, at the communications helm, noticed something on one of his screens. 

"Incoming message," he said. "Code identifier: it's Cham." 

-S- 

Chameleon Boy had changed his fly-form into a 180-pound fist, and used it to wallop three guards unconscious at a subspace wave-send station. He figured that a deadman alarm had been set, and he had, at tops, three minutes to make his transmission. 

The five-foot-ten orange fist reshaped itself into a Durlan adolescent within three seconds. Cham touched various controls on the machine, and opened a frequency that would be picked up in both Legion cruisers and the LSH headquarters building as well. 

"It's Reep, people. Verify 26/B47. The big guy is off-planet. He was wearing some kind of power helmet. I eavesdropped as a sofa pillow. Ar-Ual sat on me. Listen: he gave instructions to the Big Three by telepathy. Couldn't catch it. They've gone three separate directions now, all off-planet. But from the big smile I saw on S-Girl's face, I'm betting she's been sent to get her hooks in Kara. The other two didn't say where they were going. That's all I've got. Pick me up whenever you get a chance...I'm gone." 

Four armed guards burst into the room, smashing through the blocked door with a force-ram. They let loose with four bullet-sized heat-seeking missles on Cham, who had just turned in their direction. 

One thing that Durlans can do to protect themselves is, for a brief time, separate their molecular structure enough to effectively become phantoms. Cham did this. 

The tiny missles blasted the communications equipment into scrap. Cham backed through the wall. 

"Get him!" yelled the squad leader. The foursome ran out of the room and tore into the hall behind the wall Cham had phased through. 

They saw nothing but a serving wench. Since they didn't know Cham was a shape-changer, they didn't suspect her. For once, they would have been right. 

The four guards searched the entire building and its environs, but turned up nobody they could remotely peg as a Durlan. 

None of them paid much attention to a scavenger-bird that had perched on the corner of the building roof. The bird craned its head this way and that, apparently in search of carrion, until the guards gave it up and went back inside. 

Chameleon Boy spread his wings, took flight, and estimated that he'd fairly survived another squeaker. 

-S- 

The eight captive Legionnaires were kept in stasis fields that were, to say the least, somewhat cramped. Most bodily functions were slowed down considerably, which meant that the usual needs of ingestion and excretion could be put off until the fields were dropped. 

The fields with the Legionnaires were placed against one wall of the Defense Center chamber that housed Krellik, some very cowed technicians, a sleeping Tyr (whose gun hand was linked to the stasis fields), and a lot of equipment. Professor Zoom was a constant and seldom-seen presence, moving at near-lightspeed. Krellik paced the floor and watched the communications screens, upon several of which the Legion's ship could easily be seen. His magically-enhanced instincts told him nothing was being tried by the brat heroes just then. 

For an instant, he was drawn to Colossal Boy. The youth, shrunk back to his normal height, appeared to be sleeping. Krellik wondered why his attention had been sparked by the big kid in the red and blue outfit. Hell, he didn't even know him. 

But Krellik could swear that he'd had a ping of alarm when he'd walked by the overgrown Teen Titan. So he spent a few more minutes in front of Gim Allon, and, when nothing more occurred, moved on. 

The yellow-and-purple one...cripes, what had those kids been thinking when they let this frog-face mix with them? If that was a teenager, he'd have hated to see it when it was a larva. 

And Gim Allon had a brief, but very vivid, dream. 

This is what he dreamed: 

The three figures hung on the instruments of their deaths. Two had required the breaking of their legs to stop their breaths and heartbeat. The third was being removed from the object of torture and murder (no, not execution...murder). The people who removed the man took him (Him?) away, out of the sight of the dream. 

(What am I doing with this dream? I mean, sure, I know about this stuff...but hey, I'm Reform...not one of the, uh, you know, the competition...) 

The attention of the dreamer, like a camera obeying a director's instructions, is drawn to one of the soldiers near the three figures. No, to the thing which the soldier, half-drunk and belching, holds in his hand. A spear. A spear with red all over it's head and upper shaft. Red stuff that spattered the drunken soldier. Red stuff that came out of the third man. 

(I really don't want this dream. I really don't want this dream...) 

The spear passes into other hands, flashing by so quickly he cannot register more than a few. A Roman emperor (Constantine?). A Hun invader (Attila?). A British king (Arthur??). A German (oh, hey, now, I know him...). A Chinese. A secret group. Bringing power, but power that finally ends. Being passed on...century after century... 

(The Lord our God, the Lord is one...) 

Finally. The spear...in Israel. In Jerusalem. Buried. The last man to possess it has his throat slit without betraying its location. That is where it is. That is where it is today. 

(Why am I having this dream?) 

A very large blue man with yellow jewelry and a thing of whose shape he isn't quite sure stand above the ground where the spear is buried. They are looking straight at him...at his dreamscape viewpoint. 

The blue man speaks. It is the first and only sound he has perceived in the dream so far. 

"You must remember." 

Gim. Gim, this is Tellus. Are you conscious?> 

"YOU MUST REMEMBER." 

(AhhhAHHHHHHHHHHHH.....) 

Gim!> 

Dream drops away. Wakefulness in the status field. Heartbeat slowed down to a near-halt, but, relatively, it's about to thrum its way out of his chest. 

GIM!> 

Gim was awake. 

God, he thought. Then he caught himself. 

I hope, he thought. 

-S- 

Supergirl, Dev, Mysa, Nura, Dawny, Brainy, and Laurel clustered around the Legion meeting table. Only a few minutes ago, they had received the message from Chameleon Boy. Then they had comlinked with the Legion ship over Winath, and consulted with Element Lad. Now they were on their own. 

And each of them, though they did not admit it yet, believed their group was set apart from the others for a reason. That somehow, in some way, they all might hold the key to the defeat of Mordru...though how that might be accomplished, not even Brainiac 5 could tell yet. 

Kara raked a hand through her golden strands. "Brainy, Dev, everyone, hear me out on this one. I think I've got a handle on a plan." 

The other six turned towards her. 

"This whole thing seems to lean back to the 20th Century," Kara continued. "He's taken villains from my time, even though they're not all from our Earth, and turned them into his soldiers. He's using artifacts that haven't been in use, probably, for 1,000 years. Why? I don't know. But it says to me that we don't need to be in the 30th Century, we need to be back in the 20th." 

Brainiac leaned forward, excitedly. "You may have something there, Kara. And the 20th is a great source for allies...there was one of the largest influxes of superhumans ever, in your era. We can get soldiers, too." 

"If we can get 'em to work with us," pointed out Dev. "But you're right, Brainy. And I've got an idea along those lines." 

"What about my dream?" said Dream Girl. "It seemed bent backward...that backward-leaning could be a leaning-back in time, you know." 

White Witch rubbed her hands over her face, her tiredness abating somewhat. "It could be. It's worth the trouble. Brainy, can we all fit into a Time-Cube?" 

The green-skinned youth smiled. "The interior is a tesseract. It's as large as we want it to be." 

Laurel's face suddenly erupted with excitement. "The 20th. Like, I mean...I've got to go there! We could meet, you know, him...you know, Number One, Kara's cousin! I mean, I've met him as a kid, but he must've been some kinda incredible hunk..." 

Dawnstar snickered. "Glad you're keeping perspective on this one, Laurel. Brainy, should we consider this a unanimous decision." 

Brainiac said, "One thing first. Mysa, we both know the history of the 20th's magic-based heroes. Who would be the one you'd choose to help on this one?" 

"Doctor Fate," she said. "But he's on another Earth. And I don't think he could manifest here, if someone else controls the Fate Helmet." 

"The Spectre?" asked Brainy. 

The White Witch's eyes widened. "No. There's no guarantee we could access him...and if some of the legends are true, he could be an avatar of Order or a bloody-hand, depending on when and where we get him. I'm scared of him." 

Everybody's scared of him, dear, thought Kara. 

"We'll think about it when we get there," said Dev. "Fire up the Cube, and let's go." 

They repaired to another sector of the headquarters building. Several time-travel devices, including some old-style Time Bubbles, were there. The Time Cube, a large, yellow-metalled, cubical structure, dominated the chamber. It had been created by Rond Vidar, Universo's son and a reserve Legionnaire, and was the most reliable and accurate vehicle for chronal travel they had. 

Dawnstar insisted on being allowed to calibrate the controls. She set them for the late 20th, minutes after Kara's departure, so that no time-paradoxes would cloud her presence. Then she threw the final switch, and hurried through the door of the machine. It automatically shut behind her, and the seven heroes within sat and waited. 

After some minutes had passed within the cube, Brainiac checked the chronal metering equipment. He swore. 

"We haven't moved," he said. "We haven't gone anywhere. Don't tell me Mordru's recruited the Time-Trapper, too." 

Dev said, "Many a true word's said in jest, Dox," and threw open the door. 

A blast of magic energy dropped him in his tracks. 

Drang the Destroyer stood just outside the door of the Time Cube, smiling. He entered the chamber and reached his hands out to Supergirl. White Witch loosed a bolt of magic from her hands at him, but he had been proofed against such by Mordru and it glanced harmlessly off him. 

Supergirl set her jaw and stood facing Drang with her hands on her hips. "So it's just me you want, Drang? Okay, let's both go outside and settle accounts. That is, if you're not afraid to go solid." 

Drang laughed, briefly. "Regrettably, Supergirl, I am not the one to fight you today. But the master has given me one boon. He will allow me to watch your death." 

She did not shrink back as Drang touched her. 

Yelling curses in Kryptonian, Laurel hurled herself fist-first at Drang. Dawnstar, eager to show Kara that she was a sister-in-arms, attacked from a different side. They found Drang as material as smoke, and banged against each other in his midst. 

"Get your hands off her," yelled Brainiac, trying to grab Supergirl. White Witch was blasting away at Drang, with no effect. Even Dream Girl tried to swing a high-heeled shoe at the villain, and only succeeded in whacking Brainy on the shoulder. 

"Back off," said Kara to her friends. "This is my fight. And I know who I'm going to be fighting. You continue the mission, as soon as you can." Then she turned back to Drang. "Okay, orange and ugly...take me." She held out her arms. 

Drang touched her, and the two of them faded from view. 

As soon as he phased out, the Time Cube resumed operation, and, closing its door automatically, disappeared into another century. 

Dev-Em shook off the effects of the magic blast just in time to see its exit. 

"You bloody, orange-skinned scum," he snarled to the open air. "Well, you're not the only one who can go on a soldier safari. And I never needed a cube to get me where I wanted to go." 

Dev began to whirl in mid-air, whooshing papers and objects not tied down into his whirlwind wake. Within instants, he had achieved the proper velocity, and vanished from the moment he had occupied nanomoments before. 

He had a few places to go. 

He just hoped he remembered when each one of them was alive... 

To be continued... 


	11. Chapter 11

hells11a Supergirl and the Legion of Super-Heroes: 

Hellsister: Part 11 

by DarkMark 

Mordru swirled in a sea of darkness between planes. 

It was not nearly as dark as his mind. 

Every so often, a flash of impression or image from another reality would impinge. An Earth on which people had evolved to immortal energy-beings of intellect. A Mars inhabited by gelatinous beings who had conquered Earth. A Krypton which still survived. Other worlds he knew nothing of. None of them mattered. 

The mage placed his hands against the sides of the blue helmet and felt its cold metal. Of course it was still in place, both helmets were still in place, but, by the gods and antigods, he had to be sure.   
As if the cubed level of power and understanding was not evidence enough. As if the new sights and sounds and other sorts of senses raging through his consciousness were not evidence enough. As if the knowledge that he had power to rule half a universe was not enough. 

No. No, it wasn't enough. 

There was nothing here to breathe, and Mordru did not need to breathe here. Nonetheless, his body was trying to breathe more quickly, his heart trying to beat faster. All his life had led to this point in nontime and nonspace. All his existence, from his genesis as a minor mage on the Gemworld, through his sojourn on and conquest of Zerox the first time and his carving an empire in his end of the galaxy, through his conflicts with the damnable Legionnaires, to this. 

He could destroy all the Legionnaires with a single wish. He could blot them from existence forever. 

But...he was beyond them now. Their destruction was to be performed by his lieutenants. His entire mind, his entire will, his entire being had to be focused now on the casting he had to perform. 

Mordru smiled, beneath the mask. Perhaps he might yet redeem his soul, if he stayed his hand from this task. Perhaps he might yet be washed in the blood, or cleansed in the rays, or whatever metaphor your various religions had for it. 

He shrugged. Probably not. 

Before uniting Chaos and Order, he had only a dim understanding of what it would take to summon the object he now desired. Now, it was as crystal clear to him as if it had been written in inch-high letters on a scroll in blood. 

First: conceive. 

And he conceived it. In his mind's eye, there it was, the green jewel falling from the brow of the being who was falling... 

Second: prepare. 

And he drew into his active will every single iota of magical energy his sparking, crackling body possessed. 

Third: cast. 

And his mind ran through passages of preparatory thinking in a nanoinstant, his voice chanting the correct sounds (no air here, but he still heard the chanting; it did not matter how), his body shaking as connections were made with worlds not hospitable to visiting mortals, even mages. 

He had to bargain, and he made the bargains. 

He had to see, and he saw more than he imagined, more than he dared, more than even his blackened soul could endure. But he pressed on. There was no escaping the gantlet, once he began to run it. 

In measurable time, it would have taken less than three minutes. Within the subjective time of his mind, it took lifetimes. 

A bolt of ebon darkness engulfed him. Mordru cried out, screamed, and felt Things making their presence...felt. Tactile sensations. He did not want to dwell on this. 

Already he had penetrated farther than any sorceror on Zerox had ever dared. Still, it was not enough. 

Then the darkness parted. 

Hanging before him, as large, seemingly, as a planet... 

A perfect emerald. 

With more facets than the mind of man could comprehend. With lights within and without that were negations of light. With power and knowledge that cried out for a vessel, as the fruit of a forbidden tree called to the first man. 

Mordru reached out his hand. 

It came back, holding the emerald, shrunk large enough for his fist. For a moment he considered its sensation, both physically felt (was it really material?) and spiritually...beyond...below... 

Before he could reconsider, he slammed the emerald into the forehead of the helmet. It lodged there, without visible means of support. 

Mordru hung motionless in the void. 

He would remain that way for a good while, both measurably and subjectively. 

The power...the knowledge...what he had before, even with the twin helms, was nothing. 

And yet, there was power beyond this for the taking. Yes, power beyond power. But he would have to understand the power he had at this point, before reaching for the power of the next point. 

So Mordru lay on a sea of darkness, and set about learning, little by little, what he had now become. 

He was a patient man. 

-S- 

The Girl of Steel traversed a somewhat different darkness with Drang the Destroyer. It was a passage through warp-space, and it took long enough for her to converse with her sinister courier, telepathically. 

So let me guess,> sent Kara. You finally managed to regenerate, and Mordru took you on as his chief lieutenant.> 

Drang turned his orange visage towards Supergirl. Anything to keep your mind off of the upcoming battle, Supergirl? Or your upcoming death? Most of us have to die. But with myself...it's nothing really permanent.> 

I saw you starting to regenerate when I left you after our battle,> Kara nudged. Took you long enough. Just didn't have the old mustard left anymore, eh?> 

Drang bristled. If I didn't have to deliver you to Zerox, I'd murder you myself. Yes, Supergirl, I regenerated...not completely, but as a low-powered wraith. I had consciousness. I betook myself to the Sorceror's Planet, intending to inveigle some magician into restoring me to full flame. Instead, I learned that Mordru was bound...and I awakened him.> 

Was he grateful?>, sneered Kara. 

Aieee! He nearly destroyed me. He did destroy the fools who were trying to restore him. Before he could separate my components, I convinced him that we had foes in common. For I have lived over 1,500 years, and I have knowledge of what has occurred in all that time. I knew how he could prosper, if he availed himself of the beings who lived in earlier time. I knew just whom to reccomend. Thus far...it has worked.> 

Supergirl, flying beside him, smiled. Not entirely. You didn't even figure out it was Dev and I when we pulled that spy mission on Zerox a little while ago.> 

Drang said nothing, and did not look at her. 

And you were the one to recreate Satan Girl?>, prodded Kara. 

The smile returned to Drang's face. Of course! I witnessed your battle with your dark half, only a few years ago. I specifically asked to be allowed to remove her essence from your being. Mordru granted it. Then I brought that essence to him, and he formed it into a homunculus. She is not dependent upon Red Kryptonite radiation to maintain her existence now. She lives...and she lives to kill you.> 

Kara sighed. What about afterwards? Do you kill her?> 

Drang laughed. No. No, she has a very important part in the grand design. But enough of this. We near Zerox. We near...your destiny, Supergirl.> 

Kara looked ahead and saw the warp-opening looming, with the familiar stars-and-blackness tapestry. 

She took a deep breath, hoped she was hiding her fear, and knew Drang could pick up on every bit of it. 

He was still laughing. 

-S- 

Brainiac 5, White Witch, Dream Girl, Laurel, and Dawnstar huddled in the interior of the Time Cube. There were benches and a small table, in addition to the controls and monitor. There was also a computer beside the monitor. 

"We're going to the late 20th, but we still have to establish where to go," said Brainy. "With some help from Mysa, we could also jaunte into a parallel continuum. We can access Earth-Two, or Earth-S, or Earth-X, or any other one we want. We need a sorceror..." 

"Just one?" said Dream Girl. "Why can't we get the whole Magicians' Union, if we need to?" 

White Witch sighed. "Nura, please. We only need one magician. I'm being guided in that direction." 

"Guided?" said Laurel, wide-eyed. "By who?" 

"I'm not certain," she admitted. "But given the fact that Mordru has the twin helms, it could be the Lords of Chaos and Order. They want the helmets back, and separated." 

"Hope they know what they're doing," muttered Laurel. 

Dawnstar said, "Would you trust the spirits to guide you to the right magician, Mysa? Is this a possiblity?" 

The antennaed sorceress looked up. "I'm willing to risk it, Dawny. It's worth a try. I could attempt cybermancy." 

Brainiac stiffened. "Sorcery through a computer?" 

"Why not? All I'm going to do is input some names and trust the computer to be influenced in the right direction." 

Laurel stifled a giggle. Every time some magic impinged upon his domain of science, Brainy got nervous, indignant, or both. 

He waved his green hand. "All right, go do it. But I already know who I'm going to try to acquire to get the upper hand on Winath. I'll let you go first." 

White Witch, sitting between Laurel and Dream Girl, got up and moved to the small computer console. It wasn't quite capacity, but a party of five in the Cube had things a bit cramped. She activated a neural input transmitter and stuck its receptor on her forehead. Then she concentrated. 

Choose which of the following might be of most use to us against Mordru, she thought. 

Receiving, the computer noted in its female-voice mental playback and on its visible screen. 

Zatanna, thought White Witch. Ibis the Invincible. Doctor Occult. Phantom Stranger... 

She thought almost a score of names, and then gave the cutoff signal in her thoughts. The computer evaluated what data it had recorded on these sorcerers, and gave a readout within a fifth of a second. 

Brainiac 5 worked his jaw. He said, somewhat coldly, "Him?" 

With only a hint of raised eyebrow, Mysa said, "I guess so, Brainy." 

She told Dawnstar where to set the spatial coordinates, and they prepared the Time Cube for emergence. 

-S- 

Dev-Em's whirlwind stopped in the first half of the 21st Century. 

He blinked. Things were really shaping up, now. The skyline of Metropolis looked like an ancestor of the 30th Century, not some lame holdover from the early 20th. How much the existence of Superman and his pals had to do with this, he didn't quite know. But at least it was urban blight with some R**damned futurism to it. 

Dev had materialized, as he had wanted, in the skies above Metropolis. It wasn't yet "New Met", but he didn't give a calot's behind. A few sensor-devices picked him up. The Metropolitan Police would be trundling up in their hovercrafts if he stayed there any longer. 

He knew where to go. 

Dev pushed off of the very air and hurtled towards an address he had learned of while poring through histories of the period. 

The apartment was quite a bit better than the one the guy's father had had for many years. At that, it was only a place he used while in town. He had a really decent estate out in the country. Unlike his dad, he wasn't shy about making money. 

It was on the 50th floor of the apartment building. Dev banged on the window and hovered outside. 

The man inside opened the window, grabbed him by the wrist at super-speed, and hauled him inside. Then he closed the window. All of this happened within half a second. 

Dev-Em looked up at his host and grinned. Black hair, blue eyes, carrying around about ten pounds more than his father, maybe an inch or two shorter. But yeah, he looked like his old man...a lot. He wore the front of his hair differently, thank Rao. He was wearing a T-shirt with a GO METROS! logo on it, a pair of blue shorts, white socks, and running shoes. 

A toddler's voice from the next room called out, "Daddy. Can I go to the Fort and play?" 

In a low voice, with clipped and precise terms, the man said, "You've got ten seconds to identify yourself and convince me why I shouldn't change your face. Flight doesn't impress me. Your knowing this address does. Talk." 

Dev got up from his seated-on-the-floor position, hands out and open. "Hey, Jordan, ease the Sheol up. Your dad knew me. I'm Dev-Em. Supergirl and I are in a big jam. The Legion's in on it as well. Talk to me." 

Jordan's eyes widened and then narrowed. He didn't wear glasses, but his tinted contacts were a token to disguise arts. Riskier, thought Dev. 

"You say you're Dev-Em. What's this about Supergirl? What's this about the Legion?" 

Dev folded his arms. "We've got a big problem in the 30th. Mordru is the biggest part of it. There's also Black Adam, Ar-Ual, Satan Girl...those names mean anything to you?" 

The big man's shoulders relaxed a bit at those names, even though he was still wary. He said, "No one outside of the family and two others knew about Ar-Ual. As for Satan Girl, nobody outside of the family knew about her in this century." 

Dev leaned against the wall, putting the sole of one boot against it. "So do I pass muster? Kara's in deep. She needs some help from the family. You're one of the ones I want to call on. We're going to need some of the others from later on down the line. Trust me on this." 

Jordan said, "Suppose I believe you. If I go with you, what can I expect?" 

"Oh, you can expect us to make about four more stops before we go back when I came from. Believe me, it'll help with you along. I'll fill you in along the way." 

"Where's the next 'stop' supposed to be?" asked Jordan. "You know, if you're the real Dev, my father never liked you." 

"That's why I'm not bothering to pick him up," said Dev. "It's hard enough just working with the princess. As for the next stop, if I'm listening right, we're going to pick up the kid in the next room. That is, when he's grown up a bit." 

Jordan leaned against the wall. "If you're really Dev-Em, who is Sensor Girl?" 

"I don't bloody know!" exclaimed Dev. "She just joined the frabbing Legion. I only work with them, not in them. She's not an assignment. Is that enough for you?" 

Jordan nodded. "Her identity was a secret for awhile. All right, Dev, I'll take a chance on you. Just a moment." He opened the door a crack. "All right, son, you can go and play in the Fort, but you have to take Laurie with you." 

"Awww...do I haveta? She's a..." 

"'She's a girl.' Yes. I know. We made her that way. And she'll keep you out of trouble. If you get into any, I'll take you both out back of the moon and spank you. Got that?" 

"Got it, daddy. Daddy, when will you be back?" 

"When I get done. Go get Laurie and go. I love you both." 

"I love you, Daddy." There was a whoosh from the other room, drawing the curtains towards its source. Dev blinked. 

Jordan turned back to Dev and shut the door. "So we're going through time to pick up my son?" 

"That's the next stop, yes," said Dev. "Can we get to it?" 

In response, his host touched the buckle of his belt. It was a triumph of Rokynian technology, with some added effects he'd built into it. His regular clothing was replaced by the familiar red, blue, and yellow uniform. It was tailored especially for him, not a hand-me-down. But it still had the time-honored design. "This is a job--" said Jordan Kent. 

"--for Superman," finished Dev. "Yeah, yeah, work on your delivery. Let's agitate the air." He held out his arm. 

The second Superman took his hand, and both of them vibrated in synch until they became simultaneously invisible and able, Flash-like, to slip through the molecules of the building wall. 

Then they accelerated through the air, broke the time barrier, and were gone. 

-S- 

It had taken a bit for the clothing synthesizer to get Brainy, Laurel, Mysa, Dawny, and Nura clothes that would be fashionable for the time and yet something the women would actually want to wear. Brainiac settled on a trenchcoat and big hat. Well, gloves, too. Nura actually wanted to try a padded shoulders outfit from the Forties, but Mysa argued her out of it with a look. She settled on a white miniskirt. Laurel tried shorts and a halter, then decided to go with blue jeans at the last moment. Dawny got jeans and a red checked work shirt, plus moccasins. Her great white wings were wrapped in an invisibility cloth designed by Lyle Norg, the late Invisible Kid I; it reflected no light and kept her wings secret, so long as nobody bumped into them. Mysa went with a light blue formal outfit with a skirt so long she had to lift it in order to walk. That, and a pillbox hat with a veil, which they hoped would hide her antennae. 

With their various fashion crises settled, the five Legionnaires stepped from the Time-Cube into late 20th Century Earth again. 

They seemed to emerge from a building wall. The door-field of the Cube had temporarily bonded with it. Luckily, nobody without the proper entry device could get into it, or even perceive it. The alley which they found themselves in was a bit narrow, and Brainy stepped on a white cat getting out. It yowled, took off, and upset him. He went flat on his back, the hat dropping off. The girls giggled, or tried not to. 

"Ladies, think together with me: This is a serious mission. This is a serious mission," said Brainy, and got up, got his hat, and placed it back on his head. 

The air was cold and damp. The sky was overcast. They heard a large bell in the distance tolling off the hour. Nura said, "I wish we'd picked a place with a little bit more sun. My tan could use some maintenance." 

"Great Spirit, give me strength," muttered Dawnstar. "Follow me. I have seen the map." She walked unerringly ahead. The others went in her wake. 

They emerged from the alleyway. Shopfronts, streets, cars (an Austin Mini especially caught Brainy's eye), people on the move. This part of 20th-era Earth they'd never been to. Laurel thought it was quite nice, with character. 

Mysa, stepping carefully, skirt in hands, sniffed the air. "This place is loaded with emanations. If I had time, I could get drunk on them. It must have been a great place for an adept to work in." 

A policeman in blue on the corner gave them an appraising look. Damned if it didn't look like he'd better give it some attention. He stepped forward, pointing his billy at them. "I say, you there. Yes, you five. Just a moment. Park it." 

"Oh, gods," said Nura. "If he thinks we're what I think he thinks we are, we are in for--" 

The bobby walked over to them, stuck his club under one arm, and pulled out a small notebook and pen from his coat pocket. "Now I don't suppose you ladies and you, sir, would have heard about solicitation laws? You just don't do this sort of thing in this part of the city, you know. Be damned if you'll do it in this part of the city." 

"Oh, Rao," muttered Laurel. "Uh, look, sir, there seems to be a miscomprehension here. I mean, like--" 

"A miss what?" said the bobby. "A miss what, Miss? Look here, it's too early in the morning for this sort of crap. I want your names. Then we'll all go for a brisk one down to the station, which is, luckily for you, only a few blocks from here. And then you can explain to me all about your business, as if I needed to be told. But first--" He pointed to Brainiac with his billy club. "First, sir, I want to see your face. Now come along with you, I'm not prejudiced, even if you happen to be a Paki or something. Just off with that hat, will you? Crikey, y'look like something out of an old cinema." 

"Officer--" said Brainy, hesitating. 

"I said off with it!" yelled the policeman, and he stepped closer and whipped the hat off of Brainiac's head. 

His jaw hit his Adam's apple a second later. 

Brainiac 5 stood revealed in all his blond-haired, green-faced glory. Silently, he swore. 

"Mysa!" he spoke, loudly. 

The sorceress dropped her skirt, put her hands on the back of the bobby's helmeted head, and spoke a short, effective spell. 

When his senses returned to him a half-minute later, he shook his head. After a second's lookabout, he wondered how he had gotten from that corner to this without remembering walking it. 

He stared up and down the street. Well, nobody was stopped, so obviously nobody had hit him. Not too many people on the street right now, anyway. Just the usual get-the-breakfast-and-get-to-bloody-work crowd. 

A corner away and two blocks down, the quintet trudged on. Brainy, who had been in the 20th a couple of times before, wished they could take a cab, but it would take a bigger vehicle than the average one here to carry the five of them and a driver. 

Nura looked up, pointed to a double-decker bus. "Look at that, Brainy. Do you suppose we could get on that?" 

"We'd need money," he said. "Or a spell. Are you up to it, Mysa?" 

Mysa sighed. "I knew I was going to do all the work on this trip," she said. 

Twenty minutes later, thanks to a bus driver that had been induced to go a long ways off his usual route, the fivesome got off and walked to a doorway in a building none of them really wanted to go into. They tromped up a couple of flights of stairs. Mysa, not saying a word, pointed at the correct door. Brainiac walked up, the girls coming after him, and banged on it. 

"Go away," said a tired voice within. 

Brainiac banged on the door again. 

"It's 9:40 in the bloody morning," said the voice, with a tinge of real anger. "Normal human beings with any sense are in bed for the next two hours. Go the hell away." 

"Mr. Constantinople, we need to see you," said Laurel. 

The man inside cursed. "All right, all bloody hell right, you're not the rentman, are you? Or the rentperson? Gimme a minute." They heard him creaking the springs in the mattress, fumbling for something on what sounded like a clunking chair, singing a few bars of something that sounded like, "We're so pretty, oh so pretty..." 

Dawnstar leaned her back against the wall beside the door. Her look of exasperation was echoed by Brainiac. Laurel stood beside Brainiac, shifting her weight from one foot to the other. Mysa and Nura waited quietly. 

A man with short blonde hair, in an undershirt and light pants, the belt not buckled, a cigarette dangling from his mouth, threw open the door. "If it's a business thing, goodbye. I'm taking the decade off. Going to head for the country and start a bloody dairy--" He stopped short, when he saw Brainiac's low-slung hat and trenchcoat. "Oh. Oh, this is bloody marvelous. Totally brill. A trenchcoater. That you, Occult? It has to be, that or Dick bloody Tracy." He lifted Brainiac's hat. 

A few seconds later, he said, "Will that condition clear up in time, brother, or are you naturally that way?" 

Mysa said, "Your name is John Constantine. We're from the 30th Century. We need sorceror's help. You have been reccommended to us." 

Constantine leaned back, sizing up the four women, smoking Silk Cut in his hand. A short grin crossed his face. "Are all these your girls, mate, or could you see your way clear to share?" 

Brainy grabbed him by the armpits. "Get dressed. We're going on a trip." 

"To the 30th Century?" said Constantine, blinking. "Ah, hell. May as well see what Dan Dare looks like in real life. Let me down, Mr. Green, I've got to get my coat and shoes." 

After he did, they marched him out and allowed him to get breakfast at Ed's Easy Diner, where he introduced several of them to Marvin Gaye music on the jukebox and stood them a round of coffee. Then, twiddling his thumbs while still holding a cigarette between two fingers, he asked them, "Tell me, ladies and gent, why the hell I should go back to the future for you. I don't do stuff for free." 

Mysa was prepared for that. Leaning forward, she said, "I know the name of the child you seek." 

Constantine looked up, seriously. He stubbed his cigarette out in his cup. "I'm no bloody pederast, lady," he said. "What's this about a child?" 

"I know you and several others of this time sought the child of promise," she said. "I can tell you his name. Then you can find him." 

The Londoner was silent for a few more seconds. Then he said, "Lead the way, love. After I pay the tab." 

He did, and the six of them left.   
-S- 

Kara and Drang had flown thru the warp, which opened above the atmosphere of Zerox. The guardships were there, waiting for them. She took no notice of them. Where do we go?> she asked Drang. 

Follow me,> he said. 

She combed the planet with her super-vision. Never mind, I know where,> she said, and rocketed down to the precise spot. 

It was an ancient arena, in which gladiators, sorcerors, animals, and soldiers had all fought, in their turn. The seats which ringed it in tiers were packed with people. Old people, young people, men, women, boys, girls, even some infants in their mothers' arms. There were holocrews stationed in various places, recording the event for Mordru's possible pleasure...if he ever returned. 

All of them had come, she guessed, to see her die. Or, perhaps, to see the other one die. 

She took all of that in within an instant. Her attention was drawn sharply to the dark-clad figure in the center of the arena. 

An official of sorts sat one end of the arena, his arm upraised. Lord only knows how long he had been holding it there. 

Satan Girl looked up and caught sight of Supergirl with her own vision powers. A cry of lust, hatred, and terrible anticipation burst from her mouth. 

The Girl of Steel shot downward and landed a few feet away from her, her red-booted feet taking the impact as she sprang up a little in reaction. Supergirl's face was as grim as it had ever been. 

Now, the waiting was over. 

Over... 

The official lowered his arm and cried, "Begin." But it was too late. 

Supergirl and Satan Girl had already started. 

To be continued... 


	12. Chapter 12

hells12a Supergirl and the Legion of Super-Heroes: 

Hellsister: Part 12   
by DarkMark 

Even though only three seconds had gone by between Kara's red boots touching the dirt of the ancient arena and the first blow being struck, it was enough time for her to size up her adversary, her surroundings, and her situation. 

Time slowed down, subjectively, for normal human beings in a crisis situation. It gave you time to react in a way that might save your life. 

Kryptonians were no different. Except that, under suns that weren't red, their senses were much superior to that of a normal human's, and their memory capacity so much greater. Their motive ability was beyond lightspeed. When activated, their reaction time rivalled that of The Flash. 

So Kara had the time to note the presence of about 8,500 people packed into the stands. A lot of them looked as though they didn't want to be there. The armor and arms the guards were packing might indicate that their presence there was coerced. 

Mordru would have wanted them to see his enforcer, Satan Girl, in action against her greatest foe, and to learn her power. Satan Girl would want it to happen in front of witnesses, too, if she had her druthers. And here, to that extent, she did. 

The arena was built along Greco-Roman lines, which testified to the fact that Zeroxians had come from a race of Terran magicians who relocated to another planet rather than face persecution. Supergirl could smell the blood mixed with the dirt, only a few inches below the surface. She remembered an old tale about a Roman presenting a visitor with a handful of dirt from an arena, and then squeezing it till blood poured out. 

Some of it was animal blood...perhaps Zeroxians witnessed contests between animals, or something that would be the equivalent of Terran bullfighting. Some was not. 

She recalled how grim, even frightened, Kal had been after he had had his "battle" with the Quarrmer, that being from another dimension who temporarily stole part of his essence and wanted to usurp his place on Earth. I-Ching, the Oriental guru of Diana Prince during the time when she was not Wonder Woman, had hypnotized the two into thinking that they really had locked in combat, and had ravaged the Earth with the backwash of their conflict. By the time Superman was brought out of the trance, he was in tears. The Quarrmer was shaken, as well, and left Earth's dimension. 

"Kara," he said, "whenever...whenever we face a foe or foes who approximate our power, we must hold one thing in as great a priority as our own survival in battle. We must protect the Earth. We must control the battle so that the planet itself is not destroyed. We must never forget how strong we are...and how fragile it is." 

They had had many battles with Kryptonian or Krypton-class foes before and after that, but she never forgot the haunted look in his eyes. He never forgot that dream. 

She met the Quarrmer once herself, years later, in the adventure that brought her and Kal together with Captain Marvel and Mary Marvel. And I-Ching had died a few months after his meeting with Superman, killed by a sniper's bullet. 

Irrelevant. All of that. Look at the foe. Concentrate on her. 

The shudder that went through Supergirl wasn't fear of her foe's power. It was, rather, a reaction to seeing the face and body beneath that dark purple costume and mask, and knowing that those were her features, that was her body, that was even her brain, with a mind that was perhaps her own, but twisted in such a different, horrible way. 

All the restraint from the id removed. All the lust and hatred allowed to flow free, with only self-preservation as a curb. 

The darkest Doppleganger imaginable. 

And the fires that burned in those blue eyes, trained on her like sapphire lasers, were straight from Hell. 

Her Hellsister. 

Their power was matched. Their skill level was probably equal. Theoretically, neither of them should be able to defeat the other. 

In reality, they both knew that they could kill each other, and Satan Girl would be trying to do just that. 

Kara hesistated. She was sworn by the Legion oath, and by her own morals and ethics, not to kill unless no other way remained to save herself or others. She had helped destroy the Anti-Monitor, but a multiverse was at stake. Could she kill, now? Could she prevent herself from being killed? 

Satan Girl was in a state of excitement that was almost sexual arousal. Her mouth was open and she was sucking in breath, probably trying to curse and not being able to get words out, her hate being so strong. Her lips twitched with the effort. Her arm was raised and it was coming forward so quickly a corona of air friction formed about it. 

Kara's arm blocked it, parried, as her other hand smashed hard into Satan Girl's mouth. 

No more time for reflection. No time for analysis. The battle was on. 

Satan Girl had already sent three quick punches into Kara's stomach, making her lunch surge up to the backmost set of her taste buds. Her hand slashed out in a claw-strike for Kara's eyes. Get some points on the board, Kara, she told herself as she kicked Satan Girl hard in the stomach, and propelled them both up into the skies. The bad girl grunted. Kara had her foe's left hand and was trying to throw her in a klurkor move. 

Satan Girl bit her throat. 

Kara shrieked in surprise and terror. The bitch was trying to tear out her jugular. She scratched at her foe's eyes, battered her head, pried at her jaw, kneed her hard where it counted, got her loose like a plaster peeled from her throat. They tumbled upward in the air, and there was noise from the crowd below, noise of fear, noise of fury, mostly just noise, and she didn't pay it much attention. 

"R**damn you," gasped Satan Girl, a bit of blood at her mouth, "die!" 

By the time Supergirl had said, "Not yet, and not alone if I do," she had sent five blows raining into Satan Girl's head and body and smashed her with a klurkor kick to the ribs. 

A surprising thing happened, then: she banged into a barrier in the air. 

It was approximately a mile from the ground, and she instantly deduced what it was: a force field, probably of magical origin. That ensured Mordru and Satan Girl that the battle would be fought within sight of his subjects, and with the entire thing recorded on holovid. If the fight had ranged far afield, its object lesson, as he saw it, would not be taught. 

Unghh! A palm strike just below her rib cage. If that had had enough force behind it, Rao knew, it might have penetrated her body. And that was just what Satan Girl wanted. 

She sent both hands rocketing forward in fists, and smashed them both into Satan Girl's eyes, just as the evil woman trained her heat vision on them. It was a near-blinding impact. The villainess howled in pain, disengaged from Kara. 

Supergirl panted, wanted to get her breath, knew she didn't dare. She slammed both clenched hands into the back of her opponent's neck. Satan Girl dropped like a rock. Kara followed her down. Her foe impacted on the sand of the arena floor and the shockwave rocked the entire area. The spectators screamed in fear and clutched the nearest solid object, which was usually another human being. 

Drang stood just outside the combat area, and took in every aspect of the battle as if mesmerized. 

As Kara neared the ground, Satan Girl, who had been on hands and knees, quickly sprang into action and nailed her with a double-kick to the belly. The breath left Kara's lungs. Kryptonians don't need to breathe under a yellow sun, but the physical reaction from the blow was the same as a human's would be. She tried to suck in wind, tried to ignore the agony in her abdomen. 

Satan Girl sent another kick, this one into her crotch. Kara's being was engulfed in pain. How...how could she endure this kind of agony and be expected to come back? It just wasn't fair... 

By instinct, she brought up an elbow and fended off a klurkor chop. Damn it to Sheol, Kara, she thought, don't worry about your pain...worry about making some pain for her. 

She grabbed Satan Girl's arm with both hands and attempted to gain leverage, flying quickly behind her. Her enemy whirled around with her, not about to make it that easy. Kara got a glimpse of the woman's face and wished she hadn't. It was a goad. She loosed one hand from her grip on the arm and smashed her fist into that face, bloodying Satan Girl's nose. 

In the nanosecond that bought her, Kara got behind Satan Girl, wrapped her legs around her ribs, and wrapped her arms about her foe's head. She began to twist and scissor, her biceps and leg muscles coming into stark definition, and gritted her teeth. Satan Girl grunted in rage and pain. 

"Still want this fight as much as you thought you did?" snapped Kara. 

Both were airborne at this point. Satan Girl rocketed them both upward, impacted with stunning power on the magical force-field. Kara went "Umph!" and her grip loosened a tad. Her purple-clad foe bit down hard on one of her hands. Supergirl screeched and clawed at her other-self's eyes, burned her with heat vision, tightened her scissors-grip, and banged away at her with her free hand, all at the same time. 

Despite all that, Satan Girl managed to getfree of her grip as she gave up her bite, and gave a deafening shout into Kara's left ear. In response, Kara clenched both hands again and brought them down like a maul onto the right side of Satan Girl's ribs. The bad woman's shout ended in a note of pain. 

Both women went down to the arena floor again, and stood facing each other for several seconds. Kara stamped her boot to check something. She could tell, from the reflection of sound, that the field of force extended below the sand a few feet. The field was a bubble around the entire fighting area, undoubtedly activated just after her arrival. 

But light could penetrate it. A thought passed through Kara's mind as she looked up for an instant at the four men on the flying platforms with the holovid cameras. 

"Damn you," rasped Satan Girl, still standing before her in a semi-crouch. Supergirl had done her some damage--that was nice to know--but she was still as dangerous as anti-life. In a sense, she was anti-life. 

"Why damn me, Satan Girl?" asked Kara, circling, as her foe circled her. "Is that all your existence amounts to...just a damnation in the living world?" 

"You should know," said Satan Girl, spitting the words out. "You gave me life. Then you denied it to me. Now my life doesn't stem from yours. I can kill you." 

"Why? What'll it bring you?" 

"Why?" For the first time in their battle, Satan Girl smiled. "It will bring me surcease. It will bring me peace. You know, Kara. You know that the two of us can never coexist. Your existence, to me, with all its inhibitions and light--gahh!" She spat. "It's as revolting to me as my little killings must be to you. But I have the advantage there. I can kill. I have killed. Have you?" 

Supergirl said, "Have you loved? Have you ever loved?" 

Satan Girl stopped in her tracks. She put her hands on her hips, in a parody of the power stance. And her head went back as her mouth opened and brayed some of the most sickening laughter Supergirl had ever heard. 

"'Have I ever loved?'" mocked Satan Girl. "The question is, have you ever loved? You poor, pathetic little virgin. Yes, I have loved. I've warmed a man's bed, Kara. I have felt his sex in my sex..." 

"Stop it!" raged Kara. 

Satan Girl snickered. "Oh, I've got you there, haven't I? Yes, dear, darling little Kara, with those red hotpants and that blue blouse with the stupid 'S' over your chest...I have bedded Mordru. And more than that, Kara..." 

She knew what it was, in an instant of horror, before Satan Girl told her. 

"...I bear his child! The firstborn of a homo magus and a Kryptonian...with the power of both combined. He will rule this world, and more. And those of our combined blood will rule a universe." 

"You filthy..." Kara couldn't get the words out, or didn't want to. 

"Oh, and the best part for you, Kara, must be knowing that all of this is going to happen with your genes, from your bloodline..." Satan Girl cackled in mirth. "That's quite a burden to bear on that little yellow head, isn't it? And even better is knowing that you won't kill me, now, will you? Especially not when I'm..." 

Supergirl roared forward, faster than the unaided eye could see. A missle of red, blue, and yellow that scorched the very air around her. 

Satan Girl, ready for her move, stepped aside. Kara crashed headlong into the force-field ringing the arena wall. She bounced off, considerably rocked. She had time to shake her head before Satan Girl was on her again. 

The villainess smashed a kick right to her kidneys. Supergirl howled in pain. Satan Girl grabbed one of Kara's wrists, then the other, drew both of her arms behind her, and slammed a stomp right between her shoulder blades. 

The pain was blinding. 

"Let them hear you scream," murmured Satan Girl as she ground her foot hard into Kara's spine. "Let me hear you scream." 

She refused. She locked her jaws tight, kicked at the dirt and threw it into the air, tearing soil out until it reached the top of the force-field below it. Their position shifted, but Satan Girl's hold, what might be called a surfboard in the wrestling ring, didn't change. She rode it out. 

In agony, tears stinging her eyes, Supergirl utilized her flight power and soared towards the top of the force-field, Satan Girl holding her fast, shifting to try and make Kara slam into the field when they contacted it. 

Instead, Kara shifted at the last moment to bring Satan Girl's head into contact with it. Then, almost before the impact was felt in Satan Girl's cranium, Kara rocketed across the length of the field, scraping her foe's head against it, sending purple sparks of coruscating force away from the point of contact. 

Satan Girl couldn't hold back her screech of pain. 

That was satisfying. 

The dark woman tried hard to hold the grip, but she just couldn't manage it. And as soon as she let up, Kara was on her again, smashing, kicking, punching, klurkor-striking, in rage and vengeance and desperation. 

The attack had Satan Girl backpedalling, but she let Kara's momentum carry her forward and stepped aside, matador-like, clipping her hard on the back of her head as she swung past. "Ohh!" Kara cried, trying to shake off the pain. 

Satan Girl's face was snow-cold as she sent her fist forward in a punch directly over Kara's heart. 

Kara's head rocked back as she fought to keep sensation in a body that was struggling to numb out in reaction. Her back slammed against the boundary of the field. Satan Girl was coming with her, slamming her with backhands to one side of her face, and then to the other. She was beginning to draw blood. 

She drew up her legs to her chest and thrust them out, propelling Satan Girl to the other side of the field. Before the villainess could rebound from it, Kara's hard little fist pinned her gut to it. Breath expulsed itself in a huff from Satan Girl's mouth, with force that would have blown down a building. Kara's other hand punched up at her foe's jaw a second afterward. 

She had to keep punching. There was nothing left but to overpower this Hellsister. The alternative was something she didn't even want her mind to touch. 

What if she won? What about Drang? Would he destroy her with his magic? 

Maybe so. But at least she'd have taken Satan Girl out. 

That was when the flat-handed chop hit the side of her neck. 

Satan Girl was breathing hard, was hurting, but she was intent on one thing only: the total destruction of Supergirl, with her bare hands. Her hands went to Kara's chest, squeezing, clawing, a devil's smile on her face. 

Kara's mighty hands came together against her foe's ears with a force that would have turned a battleship into metal sheeting. 

Satan Girl screamed in agony. She propelled herself away from Kara. Her senses would return, but for these few moments, the only thing in her life was something that felt like a steel girder rammed from ear to ear. 

Kara slid down the side of the force-field, her feet finally touching dirt. She prayed: Rao, be it thy will, let me die, but not without my foe's perishing as well. Take me to the Happy Lands, to the verdant fields...and I could use a hand here, first, please! 

"Supergirl!" 

She looked up. 

One of the guys manning one of the four holovid platforms was having trouble. He hadn't done the speaking. 

A big condorlike bird which was attacking him had done that. 

"Supergirl!" the bird said, wrapping its claws into the shrieking man's chest. "Listen! Help me smash these things...they maintain the field!" 

Satan Girl was taking her hands from her head, turning to look at Supergirl, about to get into gear again. But Kara was not where she had been a second ago. 

The bird was changing, morphing into something different, and she didn't have to be told what the end-shape would be. Twin bolts of heat coursed from her eyes. They were focused on the mechanism contained in a large box structure atop the flying disks that the holovid men stood on. 

The devices within the box sparked, hissed, blazed, burned out, even as Chameleon Boy completed his transformation and simultaneously knocked his foe out with a nerve pinch. 

The other three were shouting, cursing, trying to bring weapons to bear on Cham. Satan Girl raged, snarled "NO!", and tried to grab Kara. Supergirl stiffarmed her away, almost disdainfully. 

Her gaze went to the next flying disc, and the next, and the next. Each of them sparked, each of them blazed, each of them died. The discs overturned and the men fell, shrieking. 

Within a second, Kara had caught each of them and tossed them safely into the arena. They picked themselves up out of the sand and ran past Drang into the entrance tunnel. The orange-skinned wizard's lip curled with distaste. 

Chameleon Boy had gained wings again, morphing into a bird, but not before he grinned and gave her a thumb's-up. She smiled at him, too... 

Then she saw a bolt of heat strike him and knock him out of the sky. 

He groaned, falling fast. Kara reacted without thought, rushing in to catch him as he automatically assumed the form of Chameleon Boy again. He fell into her arms safely. But she could tell by the burned-away area of his shirt and the burn marks on his chest that he was hurt...badly hurt. 

"Cham, great Rao!" she whispered. 

"Don't worry," grated Cham, through clenched teeth. "I'll be...okay. Just get her for me...please..." 

Satan Girl faced them both. Kara came to a standing landing on the other end of the arena. She held Chameleon Boy in her arms, and her eyes met Satan Girl's for a long, chilling moment. 

She flew towards the judge in the topmost tier of the arena. As she had guessed, the force-field was off. She was able to deposit Chameleon Boy at the judge's feet without any problem. 

"See to his burns," she said, in a voice that warped away any chance of debate. The judge, in his peaked cap, gulped, nodded, and motioned for an attendant. 

Kara turned. Satan Girl was rocketing towards her, irregardless of the danger to the onlookers. The Zeroxians screamed and hustled away from the point where the girl in blue stood. 

Supergirl turned and sent a smashing fist straight into Satan Girl's jaw. It was an impressive bit of calculation, seeing that Satan Girl was in full super-speed flight. 

The evil woman was slammed back, ass flying over head, spiraling in the air, until she hit the arena sand with a WHAM! that made everyone in the stands bounce up several inches. Satan Girl shook sand out of her eyes, got back up to a semi-standing position...and ran right into Kara's uppercut. 

"You hurt my friend," said Kara. "You just reminded me of why I do this sort of thing. Now you're about to learn what sort of thing I do." 

Satan Girl cried out in fear, tried to put up her hands in defense. 

She might as well have tried to put out a nova with a fire extinguisher. 

Supergirl didn't so much attack her as surge upon her. Her fists formed a gyroscope of flying matter about her body. Everywhere Satan Girl turned, there was a fist. At every point she might have tried to attack Supergirl, there was a fist. And all of them crashed into the face and body of the woman in the purple uniform. Crash upon crash upon crash upon crash...the thunder of her blows reminded the onlookers of the pounding surf, those who had been far enough outland to go to the coast. 

Satan Girl tried to put up a defense, to punch, to kick, to burn with her eyes, and nothing worked worth a damn. She tried to kick-start her own fury. It was in stall mode. She had to get her hands up, try for a foul blow, kick, whatever. This was impossible. After all, she was the one with the fury, she was the one with the rage... 

...Wasn't she? 

The klurkor kicks came, and made her feel as though her head was being torn from her body. Smashing away at her, fogging her sensibilities (Damn it! This was not happening!), driving her back, driving her up, driving her any way the blonde bitch wanted her to go... It just couldn't be true! 

Kara wasn't letting up. She didn't dare. Satan Girl could easily recover, if she didn't keep up the pressure. She might attempt to threaten some of the Zeroxians in the arena. She might make a comeback. 

Her mind once touched the thought of the unborn child in Satan Girl's womb, but she pushed that thought aside and sank it in a mental coffin. She would deal with that question later. 

Instead, she thought of Chameleon Boy, burned and agonized. She thought of the men and women that had died...died...at this Hellsister's hands. And no one could stop those hands from killing again...no one, unless Supergirl did not falter. 

So she did not. 

Part of her was conscious of her hands numb and pained and bleeding, part of her was conscious of her heart almost bursting with overstrain. But part of her was screaming and howling and rejoicing in fury, and that part scared her, but she knew she had to harness it and put it to use. 

So she did. 

Dimly, she realized that the struggle had taken them high above the arena, over a mile above the ground, far past the point at which the force-field would have once restrained her. She guessed that the field itself had been of standard scientific make, but reinforced by magic. Otherwise, there would have been no need for the field projectors on the flying discs. 

That wasn't important right now. 

Satan Girl was fading, but trying for one last comeback. She clawed at Supergirl's face, tried to puncture her eyes. Kara grabbed at the woman's hand, forced it back, and looked into her face. What Satan Girl saw there...scared her. 

Kara sighed, just once. 

Then she slammed her fist forward with a shout of fury, and there was no brooking its power. 

The villainess was senseless almost before Supergirl's knuckles had finished breaking her jaw. 

Supergirl released her foe's hand, let her fall. 

Satan Girl fell from the heavens, a mile and a half downward. 

She smashed into the arena ground with an impact that sent up more soil from the impression already left by the battle. 

Kara drew in breath, used her super-hearing, detected a heartbeat consistent with that of an unconscious human in her foe. 

Then she herself descended, and lit down beside her fallen other-self. She breathed, shed a few tears of pain and effort, wiped her face and saw blood on her hand where her skin had been clawed open. 

First, one brave man began to clap his hands. The guards nearest him ratcheted their heads in his direction. 

A second person began to applaud. Then another. And another. 

Within ten seconds almost everyone in the entire arena was standing, clapping, stamping his or her feet, and shouting in praise of the blonde woman whose name they did not know. 

The guards basically looked at each other, sighed, shrugged, and figured somebody would tell them what to do in a bit. 

Supergirl was on one knee, getting things back together, trying to fight the pain...her body had taken a terrific beating, and with the adrenaline draining away she was beginning to really feel it...and wondered what the hell her next move should be. 

Then she looked up, and caught the sight of one other being, who stood a little more than 100 yards away. 

Drang the Destroyer was looking at her with an expression of rage. 

And what Satan Girl had left, he appeared to be more than willing to finish up. 

To be continued...   



	13. Chapter 15

hells15a Supergirl and the Legion of Super-Heroes: 

Hellsister 

Chapter 15   
by DarkMark 

It was a moment of absolute horror for Supergirl, and she gave in to paralysis for an instant. But only an instant. 

There was Satan Girl, with those damned Kryptonite handcuffs and legcuffs still on, and she had the power to tear her way out of a cell even Kara doubted she'd be able to escape. 

And there was a look of horrific intensity in her Hellsister's eyes that somehow surpassed even what she had displayed before. 

After that, there wasn't time for any more reflection. Satan Girl broke the chains on her handcuffs and legcuffs and pointed her hands at Supergirl. 

By the time she had released a mystic bolt, Kara had already ducked under its pathway, flown forward at super-speed, and smashed fist-first into Satan Girl's breadbasket. It knocked her onto her back. The impact cracked the reinforced ferroconcrete of the floor beneath them. Kara forgot her tiredness in the adrenaline rush of battle and kept pounding, pounding, pounding, trying to concentrate on her foe's already-broken jaw. 

But the trace amounts of Kryptonite in the cuffs on Satan Girl's hands and feet were weakening her. Numbly, Kara regretted her rashness. And somehow, Satan Girl was still retaining her strength. 

The villainess grasped Kara's face with both hands and began to force incredibly painful energies into her. Magical energies. Kara screamed in agony. 

All this took less than three seconds. An instant after the scream, Dev, Superman IV, and Superman II were at her side, pulling them apart, trying to restrain Satan Girl, and (in Dev's case) landing as many kicks and stomps to her foe's body as possible while pulling Kara away from their foe's grasp with his arms. 

Black Adam, still held by three Supermen, capitalized on the situation. "Shazam," he said, in a normal tone of voice. 

The Legion was not used to seeing a lightning strike indoors without it coming from Lightning Lad's or Lightning Lass's hands. But this time, it seemed to come from an undefined point near the middle of the ceiling, stabbed down, and struck Black Adam in the chest with a brilliant nimbus. The flash blinded the three Supermen for an instant and made some of the Legionnaires turn away, seeking to get their vision back in working order. The backwash of magical energy loosened the three Kryptonians' grip on him. And, yes, there was a clap of thunder. 

Those who could still see saw, in Black Adam's stead, an Egyptian with the same features, clad in loincloth, neck jewelry from thousands of years before Christ, a gold serpent armband, and leather sandals. As soon as Brainiac 5, John Constantine, and Dream Girl registered his image, Teth-Adam said "Shazam" again. 

Another lightning strike. More magic that sent the three Supermen sprawling. 

Black Adam was restored. He crouched, launched himself upward, and smashed through the ceiling of the chamber as if it were wet paper. 

He hadn't gotten a hundred yards into the air before Superman VI grabbed him by the ankle. The sixth Man of Steel had an expression of grim enjoyment on his face, though his eyes were still squinting. "In case you don't know, our ears work as well as our eyes," he said, as he hauled himself up and gave Black Adam a finger-thrust to the throat. 

The Egyptian choked. His voicebox was paralyzed. He couldn't have formed the first hiss of sound that started the letter "S", much less have said "Shazam" again. 

Superman VI enjoyed his work all too well. By the time Supermen III and V reached them, he had already blackened one of Black Adam's eyes, bloodied his mouth, and dislocated one of his arms. The fifth Superman mercifully intervened and put Adam to sleep with a sock on the jaw. While Adam was out, Superman III X-rayed Adam's shoulder and popped the arm neatly back into place. 

Superman V looked at his son, whose fists still had a little blood on them. 

"We're going to have to have a talk later," he said. 

The sixth Superman said nothing, but gave him a tight smile. 

Back inside the Legion's headquarters building, the heroes were faring worse. With a sweep of her powerful arm, Satan Girl smashed away Dev and Supermen II and IV and started coming for Kara again. Involuntarily, Supergirl began to back up. If it had just been Satan Girl she faced, even with the Kryptonite cuffs, she would have piled into her. But, instinctively, Kara knew that there was a new factor in the game... 

John Constantine, rubbing his eyes, snapped his head around to the Legionnaires that stood beside him. "Somebody block for me a second," he said, his hand already in an inner pocket of his trenchcoat. 

The first to respond was Laurel Kent. Brainiac screamed her name in an attempt at caution. But Laurel wasn't heeding, and Constantine was behind her, and Brainiac charged after them both, his new force-field belt already activated. Mysa was about to hurl a bolt of magic energy, but she hesitated, seeing Laurel in the way and knowing that it would knock her out of commission as well. 

Whether Laurel had forethought at all about what she was doing, even she couldn't say afterward. At that moment, she had become a fury in a black bikini and a red cape. Even as Satan Girl was closing on Kara, Laurel slammed into their foe like a football tackler, knocked her to the floor, and started beating on her. The Kryptonite hurt a bit, but she wasn't thinking of it. 

And, miraculously, her blows were having effect. The exposed portion of Satan Girl's face was showing bruises where there hadn't been any before, on her cheekbones and on the side of her jaw that Supergirl hadn't broken. 

The portion of her brain which recorded that information simply stored it away somewhere so as not to impede her major mental thrust which was, simply, keeping this bitch away from Kara. Only Kara was in there punching, too, not wishing Laurel to suffer at the hands of Satan Girl...and suffer she would, when the Evil Woman got her bearings again. 

Satan Girl reached out her hands and smashed the two women's heads together. Both cried out in pain. 

At that moment, John Constantine lunged in from the side and smashed a glass vial across Satan Girl's face. The liquid within spattered across her mouth, nose, and eyes. It hissed and bubbled and leaped up like water on a hot griddle or grease in a frying pan. 

It burned Satan Girl. 

The villainess let out a scream of pain and rage, putting her arm across her face. Constantine grabbed Kara and Laurel by their capes and pulled back. To the White Witch, he yelled, "There's something inside of her. Get it out!" 

Mysa heard. And she had a clear shot at Satan Girl now. 

With a hastily muttered spell, she threw all of her energies into a bolt which entered Satan Girl's body, found what was inside of it, and pushed it upward and out through her broken-jawed mouth. 

The heroes, all but Constantine, were horrified. Kara looked upon the orange-skinned figure with recognition and understanding. 

"Drang," she said. "He was in possession of her." 

Drang was on his hands and knees on the floor, looking up at the assemblage with a gaze of purest hatred. Mysa was readying another spell. Constantine had a piece of blue chalk in his hand. Drang's eyes began to glow. 

Brainiac 5 stepped in front of Constantine and took the blast of magic energy on the chest portion of his force-field. It drove him to his knees, but didn't quite penetrate. 

John was quickly circling their foe with the blue chalk squeaking on the faux marble of the floor. Drang tried lunging for Brainiac, but Laurel pulled Brainy out of harm's way. The two of them exchanged a look. Brainy had time to say "Thank you," before Constantine closed his chalk circle. 

The trenchcoated man stood, flipped the blue chalk back into his pocket, and crouched outside the circle to be on a level with Drang's eyes. 

Then he flipped him the bird. 

Drang raged and thrust himself forward, even though he knew what would happen. He hit the boundary of the circle and was catapulted back to its center. 

"That's done for you, you lot," muttered Constantine. 

White Witch stepped up to his side and surveyed his work. "This is incredible," she said. "Simple solutions. Old-style magic. I usually employ energies and spell-casting, but I never really thought of using this in battle situations." 

Constantine took out a Silk Cut and lit it. "Just call me an old-fashioned boy, missy." 

"My name is Mysa," corrected White Witch. 

"Wotever. How's the Purple Princess doing?" 

The burns on Satan Girl's face had healed with the exiting of Drang from her body. She seemed bewildered for a few moments, then thrust her hands in Supergirl's direction. Kara stepped forward and brought an uppercut up from the floor. At this point, she wasn't worried about telegraphing her punches, or about the power-sapping effect the Kryptonite was having on her. 

She just hung one on Satan Girl's chin, lifted her several inches off the ground, and propelled her back against a wall with a crash. The bad girl was out of it, again. 

"Guess she won't need any more holy water," said Constantine. 

The three Supermen had returned with a null-and-void Black Adam. "Glad you have things under control," said Superman III. "Do you have a holding cell for this guy?" 

"Let's find two new pair of K-cuffs for her first," said Kara, sitting tiredly on the floor. 

Mysa said, "And this time, let me reinforce them." 

-S- 

By the time they got Black Adam and Satan Girl under wraps and in new Daxamian-steel holding cells, three latecomers had finally arrived--Star Boy, Shadow Lass, and Timber Wolf. All had finally made it back from their respective missions. All were agape for a bit at the five Supermen, but introductions were made all around, briefly, and the threesome were as proud as the other Legionnaires at having the famed heroes of history within their meeting hall. 

Kara wondered what reaction Shadow Lass's skimpy costume would evoke from John. All he did was give her a discreet once-over and say, "Buncha toffee apples all around, and nobody'll let you have a bite," more to himself than anyone else. 

Shadow Lass had time to shake hands with Laurel and give her a hug. "Good to see you again, dear," she said. "And they tell me you tried to impersonate a Talokian. Did you do good?" 

"They didn't sheem to shushpect mush," said Laurel, and both of them cracked up. 

Now that the battle was over, the five Supermen had surrounded Kara, insisting on introducing themselves. Before they did, Supergirl insisted that Laurel come over, and, when she did, told the five newcomers, "This is Laurel Kent. Just as I represent the 20th Century branch of the family, Laurel is the representative of this century. She's a good friend of mine, too, and I'm sure you'll love meeting her and finding out the family still endures in this era." 

Superman II was the first to step up, as was his privelage. He smiled and extended his hand, first to Kara, then to Laurel, who was somewhat shy. "Tynth Kara, tynth Laurel, it's a privelage...and it truly is a day of wonder. To think that I would not only see my son, and his son, and two generations beyond him, but to see you, Kara, in your prime--let me leave it at that, I shouldn't say more--well, let's just say I'm glad Dev-Em decided to recruit me." He shook Kara's hand. To Laurel, as he shook her hand, he said, "And I am proud to meet the latest generation of the Kent / El family. Tynth Laurel, greetings from my time." 

"You're the son of Kal," Kara said, in wonder. "This is incredible. I mean, just before I came here, I attended your father's wedding to Lois Lane. Thank you." 

"No, thank you," said Superman II. 

Laurel murmured, "I don't believe I've shaken the hand of the second Superman. Uh, Tynth Jor-El, I have a confession to make. I've only got the power of invulnerability. I'm sorry." 

Superman III had already stepped up to shake, and he shook hands first with Laurel and put his hand on her shoulder. "Listen here, Tynth Laurel. Even if you had no powers at all, you would still be an heir to our line. And we would still love you. I'm Jon Hudson, or Kal-El II. And I want to officially give you the approval of the Kent / El family. Be proud of who you are, not just of what powers you have...or don't." 

Laurel flushed. "Like, uh...I mean...thank you, Tanth Kal!" She was looking down, and turning red, but Kara was glad to see her smiling. 

Kal-El II turned to Kara next. "I've met you too, Auntie Kara, but you were a bit older when I did. You certainly were pretty back then...that is, now. Am I getting too far into the volcano?" 

Kara giggled. "Never mind, Kal II. I understand what you're saying, and I'm glad to meet you. And if I remember this when I meet you later on, I'm going to tease you unmercifully about it." 

He smiled. "Fair enough. Thanks, Kara." 

Superman IV followed up, stood stiffly before them, and bowed to both of them. When his head came back up, he began his speech. "Tynth Kara, Tynth Laurel, I bring you greetings. It is said that the Line of El was never stronger than during the time of Kal-El I. Whether that is true or not, I salute you both, the female Alpha and Omega of our proud line, the woman who was the most beloved of all our daughters, and the woman who grandly bears our legacy. My name is Dav-El, or David Kent. I am the fourth to bear the title of Superman. To you, Tynth Kara, I stretch my hand from the future. To you, Tynth Laurel, I stretch my hand from the past. Please accept congratulations from a time between your times." 

He held out a hand apiece, and the two girls shook them. To spoof his formality, Kara did a curtsy. Superman V cracked up. Laurel started laughing, too. Superman IV looked a bit embarrassed for a second. His son slapped him on the back. 

"Dad, dad, don't worry, they're just tugging your cape. Glad to see you, ladies." He quickly shook Kara's and Laurel's hands and bussed Kara on the cheek. "Me, I'm his son. They call me Mark Kent, Kor-El, and Superman V. Dad calls me 'Hey, you'. It's a real fliv to see you both. Tynth Kara, if you don't have a boyfriend, I'm comin' back to your century after this is over. Tynth Laurel, if she does, I'm going to stay in this one." He winked at them both. 

"Charmed as hell, fella," said Kara. "But I think I'm spoken for. Thanks, though." 

"Um, likewise," said Laurel. "It's, like, a wow to meet you too, Tynth Mark." 

Superman VI completed the set. He stepped up, regarded them both silently, then gave a half-smile and nodded, like a lieutenant inspecting the troops. "Tynth Kara, tynth Laurel, greetings to you both. In my time, the mantle has fallen to my hands. Only a few...heroes...remain in my time, to fight the lonely war. It was people like yourself, Tynth Kara, who inspired us to begin. It will be people like yourself, Tynth Laurel, who encourage us to continue. Till the day my hand is stilled in battle...you may count yourselves the friends...of Superman VI." He extended his right hand to Kara, shook, extended it to Laurel, shook again. Then he nodded again, and went back to his fellows. Kara and Laurel looked at each other, not having said a word. 

"Family reunion," said Kara, shaking her head. "If I'd known this was coming up, I'd have made something to give 'em. Maybe just food. Mother moon, Laurel, this is a whole new level." 

"Oh, you brought them something," said Laurel. "You brought 'em a super-villain. What more could they want?" 

Brainiac 5 gavelled the meeting table and said, "It pains me to remind everybody of this, but we are in a triple crisis situation. Shady, Thom, TW, we're glad to have you back. Now let's get to business." 

"Could I bring up something, Mr. Brain?", asked John, one hand holding a cigarette under which a Computo module held a tray. 

A few whispers went around the table at the newcomer's cheek. Brainy stood his irritation down and said, in a neutral voice, "If it's relevant to our work, most assuredly, Mr. Constantine." 

"Thanks," said Constantine, his hand reaching idly into a coat pocket. "It seems to me that we're getting an abundance of people with prophetic dreams. Seems like somebody or something is trying to give us a bit of a warning. If you could have them give me the skinny on 'em, it's a possiblity I could help put 'em together. Well, me and the lovely Miss Witch here." He smiled at her. Mysa did not smile back, pointedly. 

"John, the lady's not for mashing," said Kara, and hoped he took the hint. "But it is a good idea. I've had one recently. So has Gim, and he'll be in before long. And so has Nura here. So maybe we should give him a rundown on what we've experienced." 

"Look, if this fellow Gim has had something too, and he's elsewhere, can we get him on a remote hookup?" John asked, taking a spiral notebook and a pencil out of one pocket. "I got a lot out of that video thingy he sent us, but I'd like to ask him some questions. If I've got as many pieces as I can get in front of me, it's a whole lot easier to work the puzzle." 

Brainiac 5 said, "Computo. Get me in touch with Legion One." 

A new flying viewer module popped in from a hidden cabinet near the roof. It floated magnetically towards Brainy. When it was before him, its viewer came on and showed him the faces of Cosmic Boy and Saturn Girl, on the bridge of their spacecraft. 

"Hi, Brainy," said Cos. "What's the word? We're only about three hours away." 

"That's good, Cos, but please bring Gim up front and get him to talk to us," said Brainiac. "Constantine wants to ask him about his dream. Says it may have significance." 

Within seconds, Colossal Boy appeared onscreen, drawn by Saturn Girl's mental summons. "Hi, Brainy. Long time no see. Didn't you get our message? I already told you about the dream." 

Brainiac pointed to John Constantine. "He's the man you need to talk to." 

Constantine, pencil ready, said, "Hello, lad. I need to talk with you about the dream, ask some questions, get some things cleared up, and so forth. Two of the birds here have done a bit of dreaming in that line, recently. If you'll replay it, I'll see if it jives with the ladies' accounts." 

So Colossal Boy once again recounted his dream of some hours past. Constantine asked him about the historical personages, asked him about the two strange hosts of the dream, and muttered, "Blue skin. That's good. I was afraid I'd have to deal with that fat berk and his brother-the-beard on this one." 

Gim finished the tale of the dream, adding, "I used to live in Jerusalem. I could probably take you to where that spear is...but I hope I don't have to. If I do, please don't tell my rabbi." He grinned. 

"'S probably Friday, and he's sleeping late," said John. He had filled several pages of the notebook with pencilled notes. "Okay, lad, stay with us. Now you, honey." He indicated Dream Girl with his pencil. 

Nura, remembering her vision, was too nerved to take offense at Constantine's familiarity. "This is what I foresaw," she began. 

After she finished, she noticed that Constantine was grimmer, too. He was staring at her as if she had just sent him on a suicide mission. It was three full seconds before he pointed a thumb at Kara and said, "Believe it's your turn now." 

Kara clasped her hands before her on the meeting table. "All right. This is what I dreamt." 

The Girl of Steel told her tale. After she finished, she noticed Constantine was working his tongue inside his closed mouth. He didn't seem to want to talk. But she guessed he knew he had to. 

Finally, Constantine exhaled. "All right. Here's what I think we've got. You say this Mordru berk's supercharged himself with the helmets, and the Devil's Emerald. Heh...never knew the thing really existed. And that isn't enough for the bugger. I think I know what he's after. You, Superbird...you say you were the spear-carrier in this one?" 

"My name is Supergirl," said Kara, quietly. 

"All right, 'scuse me, but that was the basic screenplay, wasn't it? You carryin' the stick and all?" 

"Yes," said Kara. "I was carrying the spear." 

"The yin-yang pattern," muttered Dream Girl. "I still remember that. Have you figured that one out yet?" 

"Yes," said Constantine, stubbing out what was left of his Silk Cut. "Believe I do. You, Colossus, I b'lieve the blue gent with the junk jewelry you saw was Nabu the Wise. He's a Lord of Order. Back in my time, Doc Fate knew him." 

"You knew Dr. Fate?" said White Witch, with some awe. The way she said it, Kara thought she must have pinups of him on her walls. 

"We associated, a time or two," said Constantine. "Nabu makes sense. The wanker stole his helmet, united it with the Chaos thingie, he's bound to be pissed. So he's probably behind the dreams. Wouldn't surprise me if Melderkin or somebody's alongside him." 

"Another Order Lord?" asked Kara. 

John turned her way briefly. "No, darlin', the competition. He's a Lord of Chaos. Kinda like Michael friggin'-too-many-books Moorcock. Evidently when this thing blows, you're going to have a starring role, even if you are just a spear-carrier. My guess is, it's going to blow pretty soon. Morphew--" 

"That's 'Mordru,'" corrected Laurel. 

"Wotever, I'm pretty sure I know what your comp was up to when it picked me. I've had experience in this line. Just did it a few weeks ago." He lit another cigarette. Kara noted, with her heightened vision, that his hand trembled just the slightest as he did it. 

Finally, Mysa said, "So what is it, John? What's Mordru's objective?" 

Constantine paused again, and Kara didn't think he was doing it for effect. Finally, he said, "The Dark. I think the beggar's going to merge with The Dark." 

-S- 

One of the Legion ships was going to have to go out of its way again. Colossal Boy was inbound, but the craft carrying Element Lad was going to head towards Daxam. 

Ar-Ual was still steadily pushing the asteroid with the leaden sea towards the planet. Several ships and some ground installations had erected force-barriers against her. They only slowed her down. Mordru's own force barrier, which surrounded Ar-Ual and the asteroid, was able to work through them, like a long nail being pounded through the trunk of a tree. 

It bought the great planet time, but not enough of it. At least it was time enough for the Legion ship whose occupants included Element Lad to pop out of the nearest space-warp, traverse the distance to their objective, and, after explaining things via subspace wave to the Daxamite authorities, set El Lad out in a spacesuit and a propulsion unit. That was chancy. No one knew if Ar-Ual's heat vision could pass through the force-field or not. If it did, she could slice his suit open with a glance of her eyes and fry him like a porkchop before his blood had a chance to boil out of his pores. 

But that, Jan Arrah told himself, was part of the deal when you signed with the Legion. 

Element Lad propelled himself within range of the asteroid, and focussed his great element-changing power. He decided to change the lead to gold. The ancient alchemists of Earth would have been overjoyed, he mused. 

He pointed his hands at the hunk of wrecked planetary matter and let his radiations fly. 

Nothing happened. 

Jan cursed himself, softly. Mordru's force-field obviously was proof against his power, as well. 

For a moment, Ar-Ual saw him, and he was close enough to see her. He tensed, half-expecting her to loose a searing double-line of heat against him. He wondered if his fellows in the Legion ship would be able to save him in time, if she did. 

But she did nothing, and, after another moment, turned back to her task. Element Lad tried his transmutation power seven more times. None of his attempts worked. 

Frustrated, he opened his comlink to the ship. "Coming back in, Legion Two," he said. "No success as of yet." 

And while he propelled himself back in the ship's direction and waited for the tractor beam to hook onto him, he wondered if he had been wrong when he saw a look of desperation on Ar-Ual's face. 

-S- 

Constantine had the floor at the Legion meeting, and he was telling them what had occurred several weeks in the past, after the Crisis. 

"So all right, the Crisis didn't go as far as we'd been worried about," he said, his Silk Cut ash about to topple off from the end of the cigarette and land in Computo's hovering tray. "For me, it made things a bit harder, because I had to jump into a couple of Earths-next-door and haggle some mates into comin' to the party I had to throw. Of course, we could'a all been dead by that time, which would've made things kind of academic. I'd been expecting a bunch of things to be scrunched into one--an Earth with one-stop-shopping. But that wasn't the case." 

Brainiac 5 was impatient. Kara put a hand on his arm. When he tried to put his hand on hers, she drew it away, sadly. 

"Now I've got to fill in a little about The Dark, and believe me, you might be better off not knowing much...it's kind of an F.Y.E.O. thing. What it amounts to is, more or less, the symbolism of all evil, everywhere, or maybe just in one reality...but I think it may be more like a one-evil-serves-all-universes thing. There's also a Light, but it was The Dark I was concerned with. Some idiots in Brazil saw the boundaries of things starting to crumble. I had a motley crew and I tried to head 'em off at the pass, so to speak, but it didn't quite work like that. The damn brujeria died in the process...but they woke the Dark up." 

John Constantine was silent for awhile. The room was brightly lit, but Kara felt as though she might as well have been in a cave lit by a single torch. 

Constantine stubbed out his cigarette, cracked his knuckles, and sighed. "All right. For that eventuality, I had a home team, and an away team. We sent the away team to the flashpoint, the trouble spot. I headed up the home team. We monitored things with a seance. It was like lowerin' a welding torch on a string, seein' how close you could get to a drum of high-test gasoline without settin' it off. 

"Two of our guys set it off. They didn't make it back. Another, our main downlink, went barefoot in the head. Now he's rubber-room material." 

The Legionnaires and Supermen were silent in awe. Now Kara had a clue as to why Zatanna hadn't made it to Kal's and Lois's wedding. Kara broke the silence. "Was one of them--" she began. 

"Not now," said Constantine. "All right, our away team tried penetratin' the bleedin' Dark one by one. A couple tried to fight it. Some tried reasoning with it. One wasn't even gutsy enough--or maybe stupid enough--to try. Then the final player went in, my big green gumba from the Louisiana swamp. Evidently he struck just the right note. The Dark let him go free. The away team next reported seein' The Dark...as a huge hand. There was also another Hand manifested...of Light. And they kinda swirled around each other, until, well, until it seemed to gelatin into this very popular symbol of the circle, with the black on one side, the white on the other, a little squiggly line between 'em, and a couple of dots of difference in each one to offset the color scheme. You know." 

"Yin-yang," said Dream Girl in awe. "That's why...great Creation." 

Constantine continued, "At that point we pulled the away team the Hell out of there and tallied up our losses. The aways made out better. They lived through it. Things more or less came back to normal after that, but it's hard to tell after somethin' like that. Believe it." 

Kara had a flash of insight. "Drang," she said. "He must have known of it, somehow. Even in his deatomized state, he might be aware of it. And he said he bought his life from Mordru with information." 

John looked at her. "You knew this Orange Julius guy?" 

"I thought I'd destroyed him," she said. "But I also thought I saw him regenerating, just a bit, when I left." 

He shrugged. "Sometimes, they're bloody hard to kill. Anyway, that's how it went. Now, we make some deductive reasoning, based on the dreams and what we know." 

"The hand with the eyes," said Mysa. "Mordru entered it. The hand could be The Dark." 

"I don't have any doubt of it, sweetheart," said John. "The bloke's on a power level to make Doctor Fate look like Mickey Mouse in Fantasia. He's been climbin' the ladder one rung at a time. One step, the Fate Helmet. Another step, the Chaos Helmet. The third step, the Emerald. Now he's on the bloody top of the ladder, way above where the sign says, 'Do not go above this step.' And he's about to reach out--" Constantine reached his hand out toward the middle of the table. "--And grab it." His hand clenched, furiously. 

"He's about to merge with The Dark," said Constantine. 

"He's going to try to become The Dark." 

To be continued... 


	14. Chapter 16

hells16a Supergirl and the Legion of Super-Heroes 

Hellsister: Chapter 16   
by DarkMark 

The high council of the United Planets was in emergency session. Not that anyone of them knew what to do about the matter. 

"Rokyn has vanished," Chairman H'lpz said, his treelike form overshadowing the meeting table. "We can't establish contact even with subwave. Unless it returns to our space within a week, we can assume that the world and all its inhabitants have been destroyed." 

Perhaps our policy of Rokynian / Daxamian containment has been ill-considered,> said Worli, a merman delegate from a waterworld, telepathically from a transparent tank in which he sat. If they perish, we could all well be seen as murderers on a cosmic scale.> 

"Damn that, Worli," replied Janoslav Jagello, the representative from Earth. "The record will show that the U.P. spared no effort to try to resolve these crises. Our policy was guided by the nature of the Rokynians and Daxamites themselves. Or does the delegate wish to deal with over 100 billion beings, each with the power to move a planet the size of Terra?" 

Worli, who had never liked Earthmen, smugly replied, The delegate from Terra need not worry. Within several days' time, the number of living Daxamites and Rokynians will be totalled in the thousands. Then we will all undoubtedly be faced by all those offworlders, demanding to know why we virtually condemned all their worldsmen to death." 

Kantos Kar, the Thanagarian, struck the table. "Enough. This is not the time for recrimination or delegational rivalry, gentlemen. We are dispatching phase engines to Rokyn's space already, but they may be inefficient, given Rokyn's size and its distance from our own plane. We have sent warships to Daxam, but nothing seems of use against that--that woman and the asteroid. Our job is to devise new solutions to both problems. I suggest we begin that process now. We have damnably little time." 

When no one said anything for several seconds, Tru Hallis of Braal magnetized a water carafe to himself, poured a drink, drank it, and said, "What about the Legion? They seem to have the inside track on this operation." 

All eyes (or what passed for them, among non-humanoids) turned to Jagello of Earth. 

He finally said, "They tell me they're working on it. That's all that I know right now. And the Legion has never failed us yet, gentlebeings." 

Perhaps,> said the merman, soberly. And yet, as you worlders say...there is always a first time.> 

Nobody could think of a good response to that. They prepared to brainstorm. And they prayed that somebody among the several dozen adolescent heroes and heroines knew what the hell they were doing. 

-S- 

Back at Legion headquarters, John Constantine had just finished his assessment. There was a stunned silence for a few seconds. Dev-Em broke it. 

"That's great work, pal," he said, leaning over the table, "but while you're playing consultant, Rokyn is probably headed for a major burnup. I don't give a rip about Mordru right now. Those are my people, and I'm damned well not going to see them fry." 

"I agree," said Superman IV. "As a Kryptonian, I cannot let the new world of my people perish. With all due respect, Legionnaires...and Kara...we of the El line must first save our homeworld. After that is accomplished, we will join the fight against this Mordru." 

Laurel Kent said, "I'm as much El as anyone around here, ancestor. I may not have all your powers, but I'm going along with you." 

Supergirl stood up. "Count me in on that mission, friends. A Kryptonian's first duty is to her people. Eight of us ought to be able to find a way to save Rokyn." 

Brainiac 5 stood as well. "Oh? Do any of you have any idea what caused Rokyn to phase out? And how will any of you operate under a red sun?" 

"That's not fair, Brainy," snapped Kara. "Maybe Mysa can cast a spell to shield us from the sun. Maybe we can wear some kind of body filters. I don't know. But we've got to save Rokyn!" She smashed her hand down on the table, and broke off a small, pie-shaped piece of it. "Sorry," she said, absently. 

Constantine said, simply, "You can't, darling." 

She turned quickly in his direction, an expression of rage on her face. 

John Constantine gave her no rage back. He said, with his hands folded, "The dreams see you helping carry the stick to Mordru. Like it or not, you're in the big mission." 

"My people could die!" wailed Kara. 

"A lot more people could die if we don't stop Mordru," injected Brainiac. "His mergence with this 'Dark' I don't fully understand. But if I take Constantine's theory as a possibility, he might be in a position to exert control--or an enormous amount of influence--over all reality. His power might extend back as far as Creation. He could, theoretically, stop the people of Krypton, Daxam, or my world of Yod from ever existing. Those beings who remained would be under the influence of an entity with conscious control over all evil--and the ability to make those worlds living Hells." 

"He would still be opposed by the Light," pointed out Dream Girl. "I mean, wouldn't he?" 

"True enough, dearie, but that's still ceding a lot of power to Mister Funnyhat," said Constantine. "I wouldn't want to let him try it, if we can do something about it. And we can." 

Mysa spoke up. "Constantine, he's operating at a power level you couldn't even conceive of. I knew him when his power wasn't augmented. And now, with the power objects he's acquired--" 

"Bollocks!" shouted Constantine, jumping up from his chair. "So the berk's climbed to the top of the ladder. So what? I know about ladders. You can kick him off the top of it, or kick it out from under him. If you haven't got the guts to try it, that's your problem. But back when I came from...I knew the blokes and shielas I hooked up with'd spit in the wanker's eye. The friggin' plant I worked with had more guts'n anyone of you." He hitched up his trousers, took out another cigarette and lit it, just to have something to do. "You gents may as well send me back. Doesn't look like there's anything else I can do here." 

Dev-Em lunged over and grabbed Constantine by the lapels, shaking him like a dog. The cigarette fell out and smouldered uselessly on the floor. "You mouthy...arrogant...twit," yelled Dev-Em. "You think nobody here has any guts but you. How's about I show 'em what yours look like?" 

Constantine was smart enough to keep his mouth shut. Kara, Laurel, and Superman II were already taking Dev in hand by the time. Brainiac said, "Hold. Let him go, Dev. Constantine is right. Even if all we've got to go on is the guidance of a few dreams, we've got to try. We're going to try. If the Legionnaires die today...we're going to save the universe again beforehand. Long live the Legion!" 

Automatically, but with force, the other members chorused, "Long live the Legion!" 

Superman VI, standing with practiced grimness against a wall, his arms folded, said, "And if the line of Kal-El must perish, let it be with our hands crushing the enemy's throat." 

Kara looked at Superman V. He shot her a look of disgust that said, "I know, but he's my son." But Timber Wolf gave a big smile, and said, "I'm with him." 

Brainiac 5 sat down again and said, "All right. We have Element Lad and his group working on the Daxam problem. They've sent us back identification that the woman pushing that asteroid is Ar-Ual. Satan Girl we already have under wraps. I believe Mordru's objective for her was to have her bear his child, the continuation of his material lineage. That leaves Drang and Black Adam, unless Mordru used his own power to push Rokyn out of phase. He could have, but his mode of operation this time seems more towards delegating responsibility. Ergo: either Drang knows what has become of Rokyn, or Adam does." 

"Let's break this Adam out of the box and talk to him," said Star Boy. "Drang looks like riskier business." 

"He is," said Supergirl. "I agree. Let's try Adam first." 

The assemblage of heroes--Supergirl, Laurel Kent, Brainiac 5, Dev-Em, Dream Girl, White Witch, Shadow Lass, Timber Wolf, Star Boy, Dawnstar, Constantine, and Supermen II through VI--filed or flew out of the meeting room down to the holding cell in which Black Adam sat. With the Kryptonians standing guard directly in front of it, Brainiac ordered Computo to open the cell. The black-and-gold-clad Egyptian gave them a look of bored malevolence. "Good of you to come," he murmured. 

Dev reached in and dragged him out by the shirtfront. Black Adam slapped his hands off, and Supermen II and IV grabbed him by the arms. Superman V stepped in front of Superman VI, keeping him from attacking. "None of your lip except what I ask for, punk," said Dev. "Now. We're onto you. Tell us what you did to Rokyn." 

Black Adam gave him a sullen stare back. 

Dev slapped him hard in the face. It drew blood. Adam snapped his head up defiantly. He still said nothing. 

"Tell me!" yelled Dev, and hit him again. Adam surged against his restrainers, almost broke free, but not quite. Superman III grabbed Adam from behind, his arms around Adam's chest, reinforcing his kinsmen's power. Dev grabbed Adam's skull with one hand, his thumb and ring finger near the edges of the Egyptian's eyes. "I'm not playing games here, my friend. This is not a good-cop-bad-cop thing. I'm going to count in my head from ten to one in just a moment. If you don't give me an answer by the time I get to one, you'd best have a good memory for visuals...because you'll never use these eyes again. The count starts now." 

Supergirl tried to go to Dev, but Laurel grabbed her by the arm. Kara hoped Dev was bluffing. She knew, somehow, he wasn't. 

An instant later, Adam spurt out, "Gah!", and began convulsing in his captors' grasp. His leg flailed back and struck Superman III in the thigh. The third Man of Steel grabbed Adam's leg in a scissors grip. Superman V grabbed Adam's other leg. Even one limb of a villain of his power might be enough to kick the Legion's headquarters to pieces. 

Kara broke away from Laurel and pulled Dev's hand back. "Stop, Dev. Don't you see? He's trying to tell us, but he can't. Mordru must have put some sort of mindblock on him. If he tries to give us information, he'll go into convulsions. Maybe die." 

"My heart is just so eaten up by sympathy," rasped Dev-Em. "How do we get the block off him?" 

Dawnstar said, "Perhaps Mysa and I may be of aid in that, Dev." 

Shadow Lass turned to Dawnstar in confusion. "You, Dawny? What the heck are you talking about? You're a spatial navigator, not a mystic or telepath." 

"I am a navigator, Tasmia," said Dawnstar, her white wings opening impressively for a moment. "But I am also one of The People. I was taken to my tribe's shaman for a vision quest when I was but four. If Mysa can use her magic to take us within Adam's mind, I may use my tracking gift to guide us to that which we seek therein. Shall we proceed, Mysa?" 

White Witch said, "I guess pointing out we could possibly get lost in there forever behind Mordru's blockage is pretty superfluous now, right?" 

"We have guts," said Dawnstar, her back turned to Constantine. "We must try." 

Black Adam's convulsions had abated now. He hung, sweaty and limp, in the grasp of the Supermen. Mysa told them, "Have him kneel. We're going to do this sitting down." He offered no resistance as the three Kryptonians pushed him to his knees. 

"Do what the ladies tell you to do," said Superman III. 

Mysa Nal and Dawnstar sat on the floor, Mysa squatting on her legs and Dawny cross-legged. The sorceress stretched forth her hands, laying one on Dawnstar's head (her eyes were already closed) and the other on Adam's. "With me, Dawnstar," said Mysa, and both of them seemed to breathe in rhythm. The others watched in fascination, except for Constantine, who was nonetheless silent and intent. Kara guessed that he knew what the two Legionnaires were trying to do. 

Supergirl grasped Dev's left hand. He shot her an inquisitive look. She pulled him over to Laurel, and had them grasp one hand apiece. Then she went to Superman VI, who looked at her with suspicion. 

"Come on," she urged. "We're going to do a prayer unit." 

"I've not done one of those since childhood," confessed the sixth Superman. 

"High time you did it again," said Kara, and pulled him over to Kara and Laurel. She grasped Dev's right hand, and put her other hand in Superman VI's. He, in turn, took Laurel's free hand, completing the circle. Kara closed her eyes and began the chant in Kryptonian, asking favor from Rao, begging forgiveness of transgressions, urging him to consider their purpose. 

And if you don't, thought Dev, there'll be a lot fewer Raotians on this side of the veil, so give us a hand, will ya? 

Constantine went and sat beside Dream Girl. "Ain't bloody much I can do at this point," he muttered. "I'll have a bit more to do later on, though. The Superpeople, they havin' a prayer meetin'?" 

Dream Girl, turned off by him, said, stiffly, "What's wrong with that? Haven't you ever prayed before?" 

The trenchcoated man flinched. "I pray to one side, all they'll probably do is send down a hook with a 'Sorry, Charlie' sign on it. I pray to the other, they might send out a bleedin' search-and-destroy unit, ram a spit up me arse, and bring me down to the barbecue. All I really can do is kind of send out an all-points alarm, sayin', 'Folks, it's only me, doin' a job, so don't put too much in the way, please and thank you.' Then I go do it." 

Despite herself, Nura softened a bit. "Sounds very lonely. Do you really have no faith, John? Seems kind of strange, considering your line of work." 

"Oh, I got faith all over the friggin' place, missy. I got faith oozin' out of every orifice. Difference is, I know what's on the other side, or at least a lot of it. I know damn well what's ahead of me. All I can do is try keepin' it away, one more day, every time I wake up. So far it's worked. And it's been kind of interesting." 

Star Boy, who was Dream Girl's lover, caught sight of them and started to sit beside them. Nura waved him away. "It's all right, Thom. We're only talking." 

"Make sure of it," said Star Boy, favoring Constantine with a warning look. But he did move away. 

Nura said, "You talked about a couple of teams you had. Was that like the ancient Justice League? You weren't a member, were you?" 

Constantine laughed. "Not hardly. No, the League's standards ain't gone that low. These were just some mates I'd run across in my time. You probably wouldn't know 'em. The homeboys were guys like, let's see, Zatanna, who was certainly no guy. And Zatara, her father. Baron Winters. Occult. Prince Ibis and Taia, which was his wife. That other Prince, Ra-Man. Sargon. Plus Steve Dayton, an old friend, who called himself Mento. Last but not least, that Mr. Mystic guy, from Earth Whatsis, X, I believe. I had to put us around Winters's bleedin' banquet table, there was so many of us. I was in charge of the thing, like a damn General Montgomery of the seance table. On the away team, there was a lot of types you wouldn't know. Maybe Dr. Fate, you'd know him. Plus that Deadman spook, and Merlin's Demon, and the Stranger, and Spectre, and Swampy. Swamp Stuff was the one who really carried it off. I knew he'd be good for something in the long run. After that, everybody went home. Almost everybody. Me and Occult went out to McDonalds, I brought Winter back an Egg McMuffin, and I caught a flight back." 

Dream Girl shifted her bathing-suited form in her seat. "I believe you said some didn't come back." 

"No. They went home, all right...way home. Sargon didn't make it. Burned up in his seat." 

"Burned up?" She looked at him in horror. "What do you mean, burned up? Someone started a fire?" 

Constantine turned directly towards her, very grim. "I mean, burned up, ducky. Like somebody materialized a bloody thermite pill in your gut and touched it off. Foomp, like that. We had to keep going. Little while later, Zatanna started smokin'. Her daddy didn't like that, so he took the force inside himself. Again, foomp. His top hat was in the middle of the table, with the inside of the band still smoulderin'. We still had to hold their hands. Or what was left of 'em. Dayton got to see what was over there, on the other side. Blew two circuits on his helmet and his mind went post toastee. Could'a happened to me, could'a happened to anyone there. I'm not sure who was luckiest." 

Nura's eyes were very wide. It was awhile before she could say, "And this Dark did that?" 

"That's what it did." He took a long draw on his cigarette. "And that's what we did. Nice bedtime story, what?" 

"It's horrible," she said. 

"It is at that, missy," he replied. "And unless I'm guessin' terribly wrong, we may have to do it again." 

Brainiac 5 had moved away from the rest of the group and was conferring silently with one of Computo's hovering modes, through a thought-interface system he had built. Upon its screen, he called up a file covering Laurel Kent, from a medical and physiological standpoint. Few physicians or analysts could have penetrated its secrets as deeply as he did, and none living, probably, could have done it with his speed. He fed recent facts into the file, mentally. He asked Computo to draw projected conclusions. Then he designed what he wanted. He gave a command to Computo. 

Make it,> he ordered. 

Functioning,> replied Computo. 

Brainiac favored the brunette Kryptonian girl with a glance. She was there, eyes closed, head lifted to the heavens, holding the hands of Dev and a Superman, joining them in the Rao-chant. 

I hope her prayers cover this, he thought. 

Do you wish Computo to convey your request to Laurel Kent?> asked Computo. 

Damn. No, Computo,> thought Brainy. For now, break contact.> 

He had to be careful what he thought when he thought it, sometimes. 

There was a shriek from the other side of the room. Brainiac wheeled, raced to its source. Dawnstar was out of her trance and looked drained. Mysa didn't look much better. Kara and her friends had stopped the Rao-chant. 

None of them had been the one who screamed. 

The scream had come from Black Adam. 

He looked like hell, sweating up bayous under his arms and around his thighs and even down his face. Kara thought he looked like somebody who had hauled two truckloads of coal up Mount Everest with just normal human muscle power. He was gasping for breath. 

For all that, Black Adam looked a bit relieved. 

"Manitou," whispered Dawnstar. "Are we out again?" 

"I think so," said Mysa. "I think...I think I am very tired." 

Dream Girl was at her sister's side by now, holding her across the back and under a shoulder. "It'll be all right, Mysa," she said. "I'll get you to your room. You can sleep it off for awhile." 

"No room," breathed Mysa. "I have work to do here. Dawny finally got me past the barrier. In his mind. I know what he has done. I know what we have to do...what the Supermen have to do." 

"Where do we go?" said Dev-Em. "What do we do?" 

The White Witch caught her breath and said, "Dawnstar can guide you. You have to enter the Earth-S dimension first. Then, to the Rock of Eternity. She will show you how to get there. From there...the Cosmic Axis. You must pull a small bit of rock from beneath it. If it does not crush you first. Then you may set it aright. If you hurry." 

Superman II slapped a fist in one palm. "Show us the way, and we're there already." He turned to his descendants. "Gentlemen, if you please. And you, too, Dev." 

"Never claimed to be a gentleman," said Dev. He turned to Black Adam. "Let's get this one in the brig again, first." 

Black Adam's head came up. For once, his expression showed no rage or fear. Only a bit of tired calm. 

"I'll go quietly," he said. And to Mysa and Dawnstar, he said, "Thank you." 

Three Supermen led him away. Kara stepped over to Dawny and helped her up. "You did real good, kid," she said. 

Dawnstar beamed. "I thank you, O Kara. Such a journey I would not repeat in this life. Despite Adam's manners, his mind is full of fury and vanity and violence. And getting under the mindblock Mordru provided him was like crawling under a suffocating sheet of lead...that lived. Without Mysa, I could not have done it." 

"And without her, I wouldn't have done it," said Mysa. "You must go now, Dawny. Rokyn depends on you." 

Laurel Kent put in her vote: "I'm going, too. Just for moral support. I may not have super-strength, but I'm, like, going to do my bit. I can't sit around giving the chairs calluses while Rokyn's endangered." 

Kara ruffled Laurel's hair in a friendly fashion. "Listen here, Laurel. You have a good heart and a tough spirit. You're a credit to the whole El line. But take it from me...they'll need strength on this mission. And having another hanger-on, even as an observer, might cramp them too much. Let the boys go alone, this time. There'll be plenty of work here before we're done." 

Laurel said, "But, Kara! Nobody saw me in any prophetic dreams. I can't help out in any magic. I've got to do something." 

"No." Superman II weighed in, and settled the argument. "Kara is right, Laurel. You do us proud, even without all the powers your ancestors possessed. Even Kara has another duty to perform." He laid a powerful hand on her bare shoulder. "But your courage is the equal of any in our line. Rao will find some other way for you to serve." 

Laurel looked crestfallen, and Kara felt sorry for her. Rao better find something for her to do, Supergirl thought, because I can't think of anything, either. 

Nonetheless, Kara hugged her, because she thought she needed hugging. Laurel said, "Thank you, Kara. I'm sorry I can't, like...I'm just sorry, okay?" 

"Hush, Laurel. You've been given much more than a normal woman would ever have. Even my power isn't enough, at times. Be grateful for the level you've got," said Supergirl. "I know that's pretty shopworn, but I've found it to be true." 

Laurel drew in a long, sighing breath, and Kara heard the beginnings of fought-back tears in it. "I'll try, Kara. I'll really try." 

Kara let Laurel go, and made her way over to Dev. They stood there, fumbling for words, for a few seconds. Then Kara said, "I hope you come back all right, Dev." 

"Yeah, me too, Karaish. And I hope I've got you to come back to." He reached out a hand, traced her cheekbone gently. She grasped his hand, savoring its physical reality. 

"If you don't, maybe you know what I feel about you," she said. "Will that be enough for right now?" 

"It'll do," he said. "But if there's anything that'll get me through this thing...it's knowing there'll be a chance of seeing you again afterward." He paused. "Believe it. That's not a con, this time." 

She wrinkled her nose. "Oh, Dev. I know when you're doing a con-job. Take this with you." 

Kara grabbed him around the neck with both arms, pulled him down, and kissed him. They held each other very tightly for several seconds. Then she stiffened, thinking, Oh, no. Brainy. I forgot about him... 

Dev broke the kiss, nuzzled the side of her face, and whispered, "It's all right, Kara. He'll just have to learn to live with it." 

They held each other for several seconds more. Then they broke the clinch. Supergirl looked in Brainiac 5's direction. He had his back to them. 

"Wait a minute, Dev," she said. Then she flew over to where Brainiac stood, facing Computo's mode-screen. "Brainy," she said. "I'm sorry. I didn't mean to do that in front of you." 

He turned and gave her a very cool stare. "Beg pardon, Kara? I'm kind of busy here. Good luck on your mission." 

She stood behind him as he turned back to the screen. She raised a hand, trying to think of something to say. Within a few seconds, Dream Girl took her by the arm and said, "Don't bother, Kara. We all know, by now." 

Kara didn't look up from the floor as Nura led her to the meeting table, to sit beside her and Constantine. He looked up at them. "Hello again, Ms. Kara. Just checkin' through the dream data again, makin' sure it's all right. Dreamy here has the vision of the big war our boys went through in the Netherworld. Colossus has the one about Christ, Arthur, Hitler, and the spear, and where it's at in Jerusalem. You have the dream about carryin' somebody who's carryin' the spear, and The Dark Hand, and Mordru enterin' it, if we're too late. It all fits. Once Colossus gets here, we're going to send you both to Jerusalem to get the spear." 

Feeling drained, Kara said, "And then what?" 

"And then we'll probably send you both to Hell." 

To be continued... 


	15. Chapter 17

hells17a Supergirl and the Legion of Super-Heroes: 

Hellsister: Part 17   
by DarkMark 

The utter darkness of sub-space still surrounded Rokyn. 

Artificial lights blazed everywhere, holding back the night enough for that world's inhabitants to function. They were still in the Tunnel, and only a few hours away from emergence. Into a field of nuclear plasma. 

Places of worship were crowded past capacity. Police tried in vain to curb riots. A number of suicide attempts were successful. The news services presented a host of commentators that looked more haggard by the minute. 

All urged the Rokynians not to give up hope, at the same time they were admitting that this could be the end. 

The ruling council was still trying to find a solution. More accurately, they were trying to do anything that would keep them from admitting total defeat. 

And the phasing of Rokyn went on. 

None could yet stop the planet's march into the being of a nova star. 

-S- 

Element Lad had reentered the Legion cruiser. He was grimly conferring with his fellows, as they watched the tiny figure of Ar-Ual still pushing the leaden asteroid towards Daxam. 

There were more than a score of Daxamite ships in the area, staying far enough away from the asteroid so that its leaden sea did not endanger their crews, but radiating force-fields to block her, trying to push her or pull her away with tractor beams, even trying to destroy her with their armament. Mordru's force-field was adamant. The best they could do was slow her down. 

If she stopped pushing the asteroid, the Daxam ships might have been able to immobilize it. Indeed, she had tried stopping once, and the spasms of agony that Mordru's spell had brought on convinced her to keep on with her task. So she did. 

"That force-field she's under will have to drop when she's near enough to dump that load," he said to Mon-El. "I can try to get under it at that point and transmute it to something else. But it'll be risky." 

Mon-El was holding back his terror. His people, the inhabitants of Daxam, were about to be poisoned to death by a sea of lead, as deadly to them as Kryptonite was to Rokynians. Once exposed, their death warrant was signed. No removal of them from the proximity of the lead would undo the harm. 

"You can get most of it," said Mon-El. "But unless you get all of it..." 

Blok rumbled, "Perhaps we have been relying on the wrong means to penetrate Mordru's force-field. Perhaps we should use a practicioner of magic to unravel it." 

Sun Boy said, "It's a little late for that. Daxamites aren't any better for sorcery than Rokynians. Can we get any wizards here for an attempt?" 

Element Lad shook his head. "I don't know. I think we've only got an hour or so before she gets within planetary range. We can't get White Witch here in time, and I don't know of any in her class on reachable planets. But we could try." He turned to Saturn Girl. "Imra, send out a request for any adepts on inhabited worlds nearby. I doubt they'll be strong enough to counter Mordru's spell, but what the hell." 

"Got it," said Saturn Girl, and went to the communications chair. 

Magnetic Kid, whose brother had transferred to the other ship to head back to Earth, stood beside Lightning Lad and Lightning Lass, observing the others. "I've really got to hand it to Mon," he remarked. "If it was Braal under this kind of threat, I don't know that I could hold myself together." 

"Shush," said Ayla Ranzz, Lightning Lass. "He'll hear you." 

Mon-El jerked his head around to see them. He had an expression of fury on his face. 

Before they could stop him, he shot past them to another chamber, went into an airlock, and, clad in a spacesuit and carrying a propulsion unit, was out of the ship. 

On the viewscreen, the Legionnaires watched his blurred form hurtling towards Ar-Ual and the asteroid with the leaden sea. 

He bounced off the force-field without even making it spark. From the movement of his body as he caromed off into the void, they could tell that the impact had knocked him unconscious. 

"Get him in with a tractor beam," said El Lad. 

After that, nobody on board had much to say. 

-S- 

On Earth, Mysa Nal completed her spell-casting and a small space-warp opened within Legion headquarters. The Supermen and Dev could have vibrated themselves into another plane unaided, but they didn't know what effect that would have on Dawnstar, who was going with them as a guide. The warp would only remain for a few seconds. 

"Bye, Kara," said Dev, turning back for one last look at Supergirl. "All right, lady and gents, let's go!" 

Dawnstar led the way, her great white wings spreading first to catch the air and then to propel her up and forward. She went through the magic-made rent in space, through which was vaguely visible a glimpse of an Earth that looked akin to their own, reassuringly. The Legion had never before crossed over to this Earth, though. 

Dev-Em was right behind her, followed by the phalanx of Supermen. They followed faster than the unaided eye could perceive them. After the sixth Superman had entered (they even had a protocol for this, it seemed), the warp-iris closed shut behind them. White Witch ceased her concentration and breathed a sigh of relief. 

Kara breathed a last prayer to Rao on their behalf, and prayed especially hard for Dev to be brought back to her. 

The six Kryptonians and Dawnstar emerged on a plaza on the world called Earth-S, whose designation was still taken from the wizard Shazam, who had given powers to Captain Marvel and his family a millenium ago. A politician was making a speech. The septet appeared under his floating dais and upset it, tumbling him off. Superman III caught him. "Sorry," he said, and deposited him safely on the ground. 

By the time the police droids converged on the newcomers, they were already out of the atmosphere. 

A 55-year-old black-haired man in the crowd had beheld the incident, and decided the phalanx of aliens could bear some observation. After all, it only took a word. 

He spoke it and was gone. 

-S- 

Within her prison cube, Satan Girl seethed. Even at her full power, these metal walls would be proof against her. And, thanks to the trace of Kryptonite in her shackles, she was hardly at her full power. 

At least her jaw seemed to be mended. Perhaps Drang had done that for her, when he had inhabited her. Perhaps she just healed fast. Whatever the case, it was whole, though it gave her a twinge every now and then. 

She clashed the padded inertron chains between her wrists against the side of the cube. Thrice now, she had had the opportunity to destroy Supergirl. Thrice now, she had failed. Once, because the cowardly bitch had run out on her. Once, because Satan Girl had underestimated her. Once, because Drang had fouled her up with his cursed inhabitation. 

But she was still alive, oh, yes, alive. And she would yet have a chance to tear Supergirl's throat out. No toying with her, no beating her up just to watch her suffer. She would go in there to kill, and she would kill. 

Would it make more sense to kill the Legionnaires before or after she destroyed Kara? She decided that when she emerged, if Supergirl was not there, she would murder any Legionnaires she found. Then she would destroy her counterpart when she found her. If Supergirl and the Legion were there, she would find a way to cut her out of the crowd, isolate them both, and destroy her. 

If it were only Supergirl, then Supergirl would die. Even if it meant Satan Girl's death in the process. 

Do you wish freedom?> 

Satan Girl whipped her head around, bonking it painfully into the side of the cube. A voice within her head. A voice. Whose voice? 

Do you wish freedom?> 

That was not Mordru's voice. She was beginning to dislike him. After all, he had the power to free her from ten such cubes as these, if he'd bother to pay some attention to her plight. It wasn't as if she weren't carrying his child. 

But whose voice was it? 

Do you wish--> it began again. 

"Yes, yes, yes, I wish freedom all over the place," she snapped, aloud. "I wish freedom enough to get out of here and tear that little bitch into all of her component parts and put them in specimen jars. Of course, I want freedom. Who the hell are you? What do you want me to do?" 

The next thing she heard was a roaring noise like an explosion. 

The next thing she saw was a circular opening in the back of her cell. 

She had to propel herself backwards into it, but the attracting force emanating from it would have been hard to resist at any rate. 

Satan Girl had a sensation of passage within something like a cosmic subway passage. It mattered little to her. Wherever she ended up, she could find her way back to Earth. And she would. 

She emerged, landing on her back on a cool, obsidian-black stone floor. She spun around, gained her footing, sprang to her feet. 

Round about was a chamber of strange instrumentation. Scientific devices of various sorts, which she barely comprehended. Several humanoid figures were within. One of them, in darkness, was massive indeed. 

"Thank you," she said, nastily, to her host. "Get these shackles off me and tell me who you are." 

"Not yet," said the dark being. 

She started walking towards him. Before she managed four steps, two armored men were before her. They unsheathed tubelike weapons from their waists, activated them, and set up a barrier of crossed rays between them. She touched the lattice of rays with her shackled hands and cried out in pain. 

Someone was behind her. She kicked back at him and connected, hard. He writhed on the floor. 

By that time, more guards arrived, and lay hands on her. She cursed in the blackest manner she knew how. If she could only remove these damnable shackles, she would reduce them all to a thin layer of goo covering the floor of this chamber. 

That was the last thought she formulated before a stunner charge was applied to the back of her neck. 

Two guards caught her as she dropped. They bundled her over to a large, transparent tube. The massive leader activated a control switch and a large section in its front retracted. Satan Girl was placed inside, still unconscious. The front section shot back into place. A hum of energies filled the interior of the tube. 

Satan Girl lay there, shackled hands in her lap, stretched out in dreams that were anything but peaceful. 

"We shall keep her in the stasis tube until her harvest is ready," rumbled the leader. 

"And afterward, milord?" said an aide nearby. 

Without turning, the leader said, "After the harvest, we shall send her back, to deal with Supergirl." 

-S- 

The sensor alarm went off in Legion headquarters as soon as Computo detected Satan Girl's abscence from the cell. Supergirl was the first to arrive there, after the robot voice said, "Alert, E-status. Prisoner absent from cell. Prisoner absent from cell." Kara thought wildly about throwing the cell door open, decided that would be a really dumb move, and went to the viewscreens that monitored the interiors of the cells. Black Adam was still enconsced within his cubicle, chanting an Egyptian poem to pass the time. 

Satan Girl was out. 

"Computo," she said, tensely, as Brainiac 5 and the others ran into the chamber. "Playback events of prisoner's escape." 

All that showed up on the screen was multicolored snow. "Interference," said Computo. "Events of 14:36:01 to 14:37:20 have been blocked. No data recorded." 

"Somebody blocked off Computo while they were getting her out," said Brainiac 5. "Somebody like Mordru. Only someone with his kind of power could do that to my computer. Computo, secure defenses. Admit only incoming Legionnaires. Scratch that, Cos has guests. Admit only Legionnaires and friendlies accompanying them." 

"Directive obeyed," said Computo. A tone in the intercom system let them know that a force-field had been activated about the building. Since the incursion of Professor Zoom, Brainy had improved the Legion's already-powerful defenses. And it still hadn't been enough to keep whoever was responsible from liberating Satan Girl from a reinforced inertron cell. 

Supergirl sighed. "It'd be too much to hope that she just faded away, like she did when she merged back into my body the last time. Great Rao, Brainy, what are we going to do?" 

"If we can manage it, we're going to send you on the mission with Gim," said Brainiac, showing the strain. "We'll worry about Satan Girl later." 

Constantine and White Witch stood together, but the others--Timber Wolf, Star Boy, Dream Girl, Shadow Lass, and Laurel Kent--were close by. Timber Wolf rumbled, "It doesn't make sense. If Mordru took her, why hasn't he attacked?" 

"Maybe he's waiting for something," said Supergirl. "Maybe someone else set her free. Oh, I don't know. Why don't we grill Adam and Drang about it? And, Brainy, why in Sheol haven't they found a way to save Rokyn and Daxam yet?" 

Laurel was just about to cry from frustration, Kara noted. Shadow Lass noticed it as well, put her arm about Laurel's shoulder, and talked to her quietly. Kara hoped it would do some good. 

"Kara, I'm not God," said Brainy, and the harshness of his tone took her aback. "I'm thinking as hard as I can. Let me put through a call again. John, Mysa, you interrogate Drang. Thom, Brin, query Adam. The rest of you, find something to do till the ship gets in." 

Constantine and White Witch left for the meeting room, where Drang was still confined within the blue chalk circle. Star Boy and Timber Wolf went to the interface, opened a comlink with Black Adam's cell, and began talking with him. Supergirl went to Brainy, who was still showing her his back. 

"Brainy, turn around," she said. "Look at me." 

"We can talk just as well this way," he said, in a neutral voice. 

"No, we can't." She grabbed him by the shoulder and spun him around, with force that would not be balked. He looked at her, angrily. She said, "If I've made you feel bad, I apologize. But I wasn't kissing Dev to hurt you. And I have the right to love anyone I choose, and we both know it." 

"You certainly do, Kara," he said. "As I have the right to ignore you." He tried to pass her by. 

"Stop it, Brainy!" She grabbed him by the arms and held him fast. "We have to settle this now. I know you aren't dumb enough to let this get in the way of Legion business. But I'm damned well not going to--to go off to Hell, or wherever--with you hating me because I love Dev. You at least owe me the privelage of explaining. Or trying to." 

He said, "Kara, you have the right to choose anyone you want to. Even that arrogant muscle-boy of your own kind with the fake British accent. I'm quite well aware that I'm not a Rokynian. I'm as incapable of lifting buildings over my head as he is probably incapable of doing long division. You can date him, you can bed him, you can marry him and bear his children, if that's what you wish. You can even consummate your union on the meeting room table, if it'll stand the strain. But I don't have to be there to see it." He shook her hand off. 

Kara sighed, shook her head. "Brainy, would you get it through your thick skull that I'm not doing this just to hurt you? I like you. I always have. There was...all right, is this a time for honesty? There was a time when I even wanted to love you. There was a time when I tried to make myself feel love for you, woman love. But, Brainy...I couldn't." 

Brainiac 5 said nothing. 

She knew the others were listening, but at this point, Kara didn't give a damn. She threw her hands out at him, trying to make him understand. "It's not that there was something wrong about you, or inadequate. Rao knows, you're one of the nicest guys I've ever met. Certainly the smartest. But, Brainy--Querl--there's more to love than that. If it doesn't click, you can't fall in love. And if two people don't click for each other..." She paused. "What can I say? Brainy, straight up. Did I ever tell you that I was in love with you?" 

"No," he said, quietly. "No, you didn't." 

"I liked being around you. I even told you once that you were cute. But, Querl, that's just not the same thing as love. And if you've loved me, or if you do love me...or even hold me as a friend, I wish you loved me enough to try and understand. There's something more between Dev and I than what you and I felt for each other. It's not like we planned it that way. We didn't do it to hurt you. I wasn't trying to break your heart. Perhaps I shouldn't have kissed Dev that way in front of you--" 

Brainiac said, "Kara. Listen to me. Did you enjoy kissing him?" 

"Yes, I did," she said, simply, and waited for him. 

"Do you think that he loves you back?" 

"Yes, I do," she answered, and waited again. 

"All right, then. That's all there is to be said. But, Kara..." He paused, trying to marshal his words. "...This is not an easy thing for me. I did love you. The 'click', as you put it, was there for me. I realized, some time back--as I admitted to you, and to the others, when we were getting Dawnstar back on track--that my love would be unrequited. Nonetheless, unrequited love is better than no love at all. I felt better about myself, just loving you, irregardless of whether you returned that love or not. Tasmia, Shadow Lass, once indicated that she might be interested in me, but she learned of my love for you, and that's how she wound up with Mon-El. Thanks to this love, I have no one. But as long as I saw you loving no one else, I could preserve, in some part of me, the fantasy that you might someday, somehow, return my love. Do you understand?" 

Kara, now conscious that the whole room was silent, replied, "I think so, Brainy." 

"I saw what was building between you and Dev. I'm still not certain he's not doing it just to get you in bed. No, don't bother, I shouldn't have said that, I apologize. But. When I saw you two kissing...I knew that part of me that held the fantasy had just died. And I am very sad that part is dead, and that I will have to accept its death. And right now, I have three major crises to cope with, each of which is bigger than the problems of two, or perhaps three, little people. Do you understand that, Kara?" 

"Yes," she said, fighting back tears. Good lord, what a mistake coming here has been, she thought. First, I had Dawnstar hating me...and now this, with Brainy. 

"Right now, I don't have the time to be noble," he said. "If we come through this, perhaps my emotions--my 'heart', as you put it--will have space enough and time enough to let the hurt come to full fruition, blossom, and die. For right now, I have other things to worry about. But, Kara." He looked at her, with a sad expression. "You are right. I do want the best for you. I want what makes you happy. And if that is Dev, go. I wish you--" He ground it out. "If that is what makes you happy, then I wish you happiness." 

Kara stood there, before him, for a long pause, then flew forward and tried to hug him in gratitude. He pushed her back, firmly. "No, Kara. Thank you, but--no." 

She said, falteringly, "Brainy, I--" 

He held a finger to her mouth. "No. Let it pass. We are Legionnaires, and friends. That is sufficient." He dropped his hand. He turned to Laurel, who was standing some ten feet away, but who had been hanging on every word of the exchange. "Laurel, I think I have something for you. Come with me." 

Wordlessly, Laurel approached them. She hesitated as she passed by Kara. Not looking up, Kara said, "Go on, Laurel. Go with him." Laurel passed on. 

The other Legionnaires pretended to be oblivious to the exchange, as a courtesy to Brainy and Kara. All except Dream Girl, who came to Supergirl's side and took her hand. Thom got up, looking as though he would come to console her as well, but she shook her head at him and he sat back down. 

"If you want to talk to me, we can go outside and talk," murmured Dream Girl. "Sometimes, it's nice to have a third party to talk to, believe it." 

"It's all right, Nura, thanks," sniffed Kara. "Damn it. I'm glad things worked out the way they did with Dev...but I'm so damn sorry about Brainy." 

"Sometimes these things happen, Kara," said Dream Girl. "At least Brainy isn't like that crazy who tried to kill Thom once, so he could get to me--as if." 

Kara's shoulders were shaking. Dream Girl gently guided her out of the room. When they were outside, Kara said, in a choking voice, "Oh, Nura, if I have to go to Hell, I don't care. Even if it is Hell, it's got to be better than this." 

-S- 

The second Legion cruiser emerged from the warp near Earthspace, decelerated, hit atmosphere, and began landing procedures. Within the hour, it had touched down safely at the spaceport adjoining Legion headquarters. 

Colossal Boy, Cosmic Boy, Tellus, Polar Boy, Sensor Girl, Shrinking Violet, and Phantom Girl emerged first. Bringing up the rear were Ultra Boy, Power Boy, Captain Action, and Action Boy, carrying their comatose prisoners Professor Zoom, Krellik, and Tyr. 

"Still think you're up for it, Gim?" said Cosmic Boy, quietly. "There's not a Legionnaire here that would blame you, if you declined." 

The Israeli member of the Legion had regained most of his emotional stability since recording his dream data and sending it to his teammates, and felt even better after talking to Constantine. But the thought of what was yet required of him gave him more than a twinge of fear. 

"I'm up for it, Cos," he said, squaring his shoulders. "Take me to Supergirl, and let's get this thing done." 

They came to the Legion's headquarters building, were admitted through the force-field by Computo, and entered. 

-S- 

In Legion Cruiser One, Element Lad, Blok, Magnetic Kid, Lightning Lad, Lightning Lass, Mon-El, Saturn Girl, and Sun Boy still followed Ar-Ual and the asteroid on the viewscreen. A second screen was trained on the space which Rokyn had occupied. A third was a comlink to Legion HQ. El Lad looked up at Sun Boy. 

"Dirk, any change reported in the Rokyn thing?" 

Sun Boy shook his head. "Not a bit. The phase engines can't bring it back. It's too far gone. If they've managed to do anything for themselves on Rokyn, we don't know about it." 

"Kal-El's people's world is about to be vaporized," said Mon-El, in a zombie-like tone. "Daxxam will still be there. But everybody on it'll be dead." He snorted grimly. "Maybe we win out. At least the planet will still be there." 

Element Lad whirled around so fast he banged an elbow into Blok. "OW!" he yelled, rubbing his arm. 

"Sorry," said Blok. 

"Don't worry," said El Lad. "Mon, what you just said...the planet still being there. Mon, you may be a freaking genius." 

"What?" said Mon-El. 

"Garth, open a channel to the U.P.," said Jan Arrah. "I think we've got something." 

"What?" said Mon-El, grabbing his teammate's unhurt arm. 

Jan looked at Mon, his face showing hope. "Let's see if we can do it, first." 

And Lightning Lad opened the channel to United Planets headquarters. 

-S- 

Within the Earth-S universe, the five Supermen and Dev-Em flew as a phalanx, with Dawnstar leading, and Dev-Em close enough behind her that he could grab her and draw her back into their midst if they should run into traps of some sort along the way. But for now, the Legion's supreme tracker bulleted forward, as focused as a samurai, her telekinetic flight ability driving her foward, the six Kryptonians behind her, all of them travelling at a speed that reduced light velocity to a crawl. 

From the information she had taken from Black Adam's mind, she was able to guide them inerringly. Dawnstar shifted position, and they shifted with her, to the exact degree. They vanished into a warphole that had long been used by the Marvel Family, and others like them, when they wished to travel in space and time. 

None of them noticed the figure flying quite a distance behind them. They were concentrating on other things. 

Once within the warp, Dawnstar pointed them in the direction of a barely visible target. The Kryptonians used their super-vision and picked it out. A huge rock, hanging in warp-space, with a number of inhabitations on its face. The architecture suggested both classical Greek and Roman motif, with some traces of a Hebrew temple-like structure on it as well. 

The Rock of Eternity,> said Superman II. Dad told me about coming here, on several occasions.> 

Maybe we should chip off a piece as a souvenir,> said Superman V. Imagine having something from that for a paperweight.> 

Father, please,> sent Superman VI. 

Dev gave a mental sigh. Minds on the job, people. How close do we get, Dawny?> 

A bit closer,> sent the winged woman. That was the first message she had sent since the start of their flight, and she resumed her silence afterward. 

Their course brought them close indeed, until they got to the event horizon which would take them to their destination. Then they veered off as Dawnstar pulled up and took off at a precise angle. The Eternity Rock was the gateway to everywhere in this dimension, and other planes could be reached from it as well. The delta-shaped group of superbeings flew on, and none of them doubted that Dawnstar had chosen the proper route. 

They were barely gone from sight before a wizened, white-bearded figure emerged from one of the buildings on its summit. Seconds later, the being who had been trailing the septet alighted before him. 

"Old one, I greet you with honor," he said. "Do you know if these seven be friend or foe?" 

"I sense no overt evil within them," said the whitebeard. "They could probably use your help." 

"Then such they will have," said the newcomer, and vaulted into space again. 

The bearded man looked upon his protégé and smiled. Not so much as a "farewell" as he flew off. 

Ah, well, gods and heroes knew he'd been in just as much of a hurry when he wore the suit. 

Maybe he could bring them back for a visit, once they were done. Maybe not. At any rate, he had things to do. He went back inside, and started work again on a list of jokes for Zeus's roast of Solomon at the banquet that night. 

Talking about the wives was too easy, he decided. Maybe the two women and the baby? Yes, that might be better. 

And the flying man vanished from sight of the Rock of Eternity. 

-S- 

Darkness with lights, darkness with lights. 

Mordru bestirred himself. The knowledge of the long-ago conflict before Man had been interesting. The history of Cthulu and his relatives he knew, but not in such scope. Nabu and the Order Lords, Melderkin and the Lords of Chaos, the Realms above and below, Asgard, Niffleheim, Olympus, Tartarus, the Border Worlds, the Dreaming, the Realms of Death, all of that and more, encoded within the facets of this little gem. Even with his own great powers of comprehension, even boosted with the helms of Chaos and Order, there was only so much he had the power to grasp, at this point. 

He allowed himself the luxury of reflection, of wishing. Perhaps, if he still cared afterward, he would annihilate the Legionnaires. He could find them wherever he was. If his lieutenants had failed, he would tend to them. 

He could also turn his attention to the accursed 20th Century, and wipe each Earth clean of heroes. Or he could simply destroy each Earth. Wasteful, but perhaps necessary. Other heroes could arise to replace those he slaughtered, if he left them. 

Or perhaps he would just let them all live, and torture them in ways even he could not yet contemplate. 

That would be for afterward. 

He had greater things to accomplish right now. 

Mordru oriented himself to what he thought of as a standing position, exerted a small fraction of his power, and began to open barriers few would have detected, and fewer still could have breached. 

The entities about him screeched in fear and hatred, and tried battening upon him. They were of no consequence. 

Mordru smiled, and wondered what it would be like to touch the Hand. 

To be continued... 


	16. Chapter 18

hells18a Supergirl and the Legion of Super-Heroes: 

Hellsister: Part 18   
by DarkMark 

Brainiac 5 needed sleep, but he had to finish this task first. In a section of the Legion's medical center, he had Laurel Kent lying down in a reclining chair, her eyes closed, her hands grasping two rods which were connected by leads to a measuring apparatus. The grips were used to measure strength, and Computo had constructed them of Intertron and Daxamite plastic per his instructions. Even Mon-El could squeeze these grips, without fear of damaging them. He hoped. 

Now he was about to find out if he was a fair enough hypnotist to do what he had purposed. 

"Laurel," he said. "Nod your head if you can hear me." 

She nodded, her eyes still closed. Hopefully, she was still in a deep enough trance. 

"I want you to think back to your fight with Ar-Ual," he said. "Please. Do this for me." 

"No," whimpered Laurel. His lips tightened. She was a brave girl, but she'd taken some punishment in that battle. 

"Laurel, it is important that you think back to your fight with Ar-Ual. The Legion depends on it. You are fighting Ar-Ual. What is happening?" 

The entranced beauty in the black bikini and red cape gritted her teeth. "I'm hitting her. Hard as I can. All over. Even kicking her. She doesn't feel it. I want to show them." 

"Show who?" 

"Dev and Kara. Want to show them I can keep up. But...ahhhh!" 

Brainy drew in breath. "Laurel. Stay with me. It's important to the Legion's survival that you stay with me. What is she doing to you?" 

"She's...beating me up. All over. I'm getting hit. Getting scratched. It hurts. It hurts! No more! Take her away!" 

"Laurel, stay with me. It'll only be for a little while longer. What's happening now?" 

"She's still...hitting me. And I'm hurt. She may kill me. She's so much stronger...I'm scared. She may kill me. I'm looking bad! Kara and Dev will see me! I don't want her to kill me! I'm scared...I'm mad! I hit her!" 

"You hit her," said Brainy. "What happens?" 

Laurel suddenly calmed, as if astonished. "She's flying away from me." 

"What does she look like, Laurel?" 

"She looks like I hurt her." 

Brainy hesitated for a second. "Do you feel stronger?" 

"Yes. Yes, I feel stronger. Seems to be fading now. But I felt stronger. Felt like Kara. Ar-Ual's coming back." 

"Laurel. The battle is over now. You're in a safe place. Now, I want you to do something for me. It's important to the Legion." Brainiac 5 ran a hand through his blond hair. This was the most important step, or one of the most important, anyway. He went on. 

"Laurel. I want you to try to feel that way again, to gain that strength, all those Kryptonian powers, when you say the words, 'Power On.' Then I want you to squeeze these grips just as hard as you can. Then when you say the words, 'Power Off,' your powers will fade. This is very important to the Legion, Laurel. It's important to you. Will you say these words for me, Laurel?" 

"Yes," she said, in a dreamy whisper. Her hands were limp on the grips. 

"Laurel. Say 'Power On'." 

"Power On," she said. 

She squeezed the grips. 

Brainy watched her arm muscles flex into definition. She was gripping and squeezing. He looked at the readout on the wall monitor. She was at the level of a normal human female. Could it be he'd guessed wrong? Could Computo's calculations be faulty? Had he fed it garbage? If so, he'd try again. But not before he had some sleep. 

He shot the monitor another look. Suddenly, the pressure on the grips had jumped. It was at a level 20 times that of peak human capacity, and growing. 

Querl looked at the lovely girl on the recliner. Her teeth were clenched with effort, and she was beginning to break a light sweat. But she hadn't peaked yet, and she was still squeezing hard. She banged her arms against the armrests of the chair. 

They bent outward. 

Brainy was wide-eyed. The monitor was showing a pressure increase so rapid his eyes couldn't track it. It was way past Timber Wolf's level. It was still climbing. 

"Remarkable," he breathed. The pressure level was approaching the magical Krypton-class plateau. Come on, Laurel, he silently urged. Come on... 

There was another jump of power, and a crunch of broken substance. 

Brainiac looked at her. 

Laurel had crushed the grips. She was still trying to squeeze them. 

"Laurel," he said. "Say 'Power Down'." 

"Power Down," she repeated. She was still trying hard to squeeze the grips. 

"Laurel, stop squeezing the grips." She obeyed. Her tired hands let loose the wires and fragments of Daxamite plastic and metal. Her arms flopped down to her lap. The armrests were out of reach. 

"All right," he said. "I'm going to bring you out of your trance in just a moment, Laurel. But when I do, you will remember to say 'Power Up' when you need to use your powers, and 'Power Down' when you're finished using them. Will you remember that, Laurel?" 

"Yes," she said. Now her face held not only calmness, but, he noted, a bit of satisfaction. 

"Laurel, you'll come out of your trance on the count of three. One, two...three." 

She opened her eyes, lifted her head. "Wow. Brainy, I feel kind of tired. How did I do?" 

"Computo," he said. "Strength level readout." 

The synthed voice emerged from a wall speaker. "Subject: Laurel Kent. Exerted pressure at 1.09 level of Krypton / Daxam-class female. Damage of instruments prevented further observance." 

He leaned on one of the wrenched armrests and gave her a tired smile. "I'd say you did pretty well. You can tell the others. I'm going to get a little Quicksleep first." 

-S- 

Element Lad, in the Legion cruiser near Daxam, had gotten through to the United Planets security council. He stated what he wanted, in a very few words. 

"Phase engines," he said. "As many as possible, as fast as you can. Bring them here. Now." 

Chairman H'lpz ran his stalklike extensors over a portion of table while an interface brought up the necessary data. "We can bring 50 within the hour." 

Jan Arrah ground his teeth. "We'll need at least 100 more than that. Daxam's a big planet." 

H'lpz was silent for a few seconds, then said, "Apologies, Legionnaire. 150 have been dispatched to Rokyn. We cannot get them to you in time." 

For as many seconds, Element Lad paused, his gut churning with frustration. Then his hand stabbed out at the viewscreen where the chairman's image was held. 

"Oh, yes, you can, Mr. Chairman," said Jan. "Let me tell you how." 

-S- 

The returning contingent of Legionnaires was greeted with tired jubilation. There were the suitable instances of handshakes, hugs, cheek-kissing, and several variants of high-fives, all out on the plaza in front of the HQ building. Captain Action and Action Boy had already met the other Legionnaires and Constantine, having been collected by them after their trip to 20th Century London. Nonetheless, both were still impressed by the grandeur and high-tech opulence of the Legion's headquarters building. But they were getting used to being impressed by the 30th Century. 

"This is just too far out, Dad," said Action Boy, carrying a tranquilized Professor Zoom. "You don't suppose we could stay here, do you?" 

Captain Action, a kayoed Krellik over his shoulder, said, "No, Carl. Dr. Evil is still at large. Until we end his menace, we can't leave our own time." 

Carl gave his father a sober look. Dr. Evil, their greatest enemy, was Carl's grandfather, the mother of Action's late wife. They said nothing more about it. 

Constantine hung back from most of the Legionnaires' greeting meeting. Supergirl noticed it and went to him. "Don't you want to meet the others?", she said. 

He threw his cigarette down and ground it into the pavement. "'Druther not," he said. He turned and started to go back in the building. She flew in front of him and stood there. 

"John," she said. "I don't know you--" 

"S'right, and you're bloody better off not," he snapped, giving her a surly look and starting to walk around her. 

She grabbed him by the front of his trenchcoat. "--But, I do know that you need to at least shake hands with these people, if you intend to make this operation of yours work. So come on back with me." 

He tried unhooking her hand, but she just held him tighter. He thought about trying to slip out of his coat backwards, but figured that a woman with the power of Superman would be able to grab him no matter what he did, if she wanted to. 

"Look," he pointed out, as reasonably as he could. "I've nothing against you, sweetheart. I've nothing against the new troops. It's just that, if you've read the subtext what I gave you, the amount of people comin' out of my operations tends to be a few less than what went into 'em. This way, it's easier on them, 'cause they get to hate me afterward, and it's easier on me, 'cause I don't get that attached to 'em too hard. Izzat clear, Ms. Kara?" 

She didn't agree, obviously. "We've had casualties before," she said, softly. "And we treasure our friendships, because we've seen how quickly they can end. Now come on." She shifted her grip to his arm, and herded him back to the Legionnaires. The first one she brought him to was Gim, who was talking with Dream Girl and White Witch. "Gim, this is John Constantine, in the flesh this time. He's been wanting to meet you, but he's shy. And John, this is Gim Allon, alias Colossal Boy. Go on, he doesn't bite." 

Dream Girl and Mysa knew what was going on and grinned. Gim put out his red gloved hand, and John, not believing himself, shook it tentatively, then firmly. "S'you're Colossus," he said. "Pleased, I'm sure. Ever heard of the Cabala?" 

Colossal Boy shook his head in wonder. "Sure, I've heard of it. Jewish mysticism. What's that got to do with me, John?" 

"Nothin', mate, just thought you might have heard of it. It's good to see you. That dream really gave us a lot to work on." He leaned in closer, a bit more serious. "Think you're up to it?" 

Gim gave him a relaxed expression. "I'm trained to be up to it." 

John clapped him on the shoulder. "The spirit, mate. Sydney or the freakin' bush. See you at the Round Table." Gim grinned and clasped his arm in solidarity. Then he let him go. 

Constantine gave Kara a grudging grin as they moved on. "This greeting the troops thing could get to be fun," he said. "Who's next?" 

"Over here," she said, pulling him by the arm. "Tinya, Violet, hi! I want you to meet Mr. Constantine." 

By the time his third greeting was over, Constantine was tugging on Supergirl's sleeve. "Kara, c'mon. There's some folks over here I haven't met yet. Give me some names, will you?" 

-S- 

It would be, the onboard computers predicted, no more than 30 minutes till Ar-Ual forced the asteroid within Daxam's atmosphere. Once there, she would overturn it, dump the lead sea into the atmosphere, and everyone on Daxam would sicken and die within a week. The Daxamite ships were still there, still trying everything in their power to stop her, and still failing. 

To their credit, the Daxamian government had begun moving many of their population to what spacecraft they had, and hundreds of thousands were escaping that way. Other hundreds of thousands were being allowed through WarPorts for the first time, with only cursory review by the powers that be, and were emerging on other worlds within the United Planets. The problem with that, of course, was that not all lead could be removed from reception areas on planets where the Daxamites arrived. Inevitably, when the first ones came through, there were some deaths. The people in charge stopped the immigration, swept for lead, let more through, and hoped they had done their job well. If they had, nobody else died. 

Nobody pretended that more than a small fraction of the Daxamites could be saved this way. But at least it was a better deal than the Rokynians got. 

When thirty minutes remained, the first phase engine ships started showing up. Mon-El, who had been staring at the viewscreens as long as he physically could, was first to notice it. "They're here," he said. "Jan, look. The first ships are here!" 

The Legionnaires looked. 

The phase engine ships were massive, floating dynamos with broadcast dishes. In large enough number, in coordinated effort, they could project a pattern of teleportational energies which could, if enough ships were present to give the proper amount of coverage, phase an entire world into another dimensional plane. They could move smaller objects across space. The technology was akin to that of the WarPort, but on a much grander scale. 

Ten were already within sight of the Legion scanner. More were coming. 

Experimentally, one of the ships turned towards the lead-sea asteroid. It sent forth a teleportational beam in the great rock's direction. Nothing happened. The force-field of Mordru was proof against it. Two others joined in the phasing action, but the result was nil. They broke off the effort. 

"Nice try," said Element Lad, "but we didn't think it'd work, either." 

Blok said, "More ships are arriving. There is still a chance." 

"There usually is," said Lightning Lad. "Only this time we don't get to do it ourselves. We have to depend on others." 

Jan Arrah wheeled to face him, and his face was very snowy. "Garth. The last I heard, there was no Miracle Machine anymore. Matter-Eater Lad ate it. So I propose you take your jealousy pangs about not being able to charge in firing lightning bolts at the planet and--" 

Magnetic Kid fairly leaped between them. 

"Hold it, Element Lad, Lightning Lad, both of you." The kid didn't have the familiarity yet to call them by nicknames or first names. "Damp it down, please. Li--uh, Garth. I know it feels frustrating, but he's right. There isn't any way we can solve this with our powers. And, excuse me, Frer Jan, and I know you're uptight about this. So I can understand your overreaction. But it seems to me like--" 

"It seems to me like I flew off the handle a bit," said Element Lad, smiling ruefully. "Truce, Garth?" He held out a hand. 

Lightning Lad took it. "Forgotten, Jan." They shook. "But we're going to need a lot more than that out there." He gestured with his free hand to the screen. More ships had arrived, almost all of the fifty the U.P. had initially promised. They were positioning themselves in an arc around a section of Daxam. 

"We're going to get it," said Jan. "The questions are, how many, and when. Keep praying." 

And they did. 

-S- 

After the handshake party, the Legionnaires were about to troop into the building for the meeting. Constantine, still standing beside Kara, held up both his hands, in one of which he still held a cigarette. "Hold up, folks. Ah, your attention for a moment, please?" The heroes stopped and turned in his direction. 

"First off, I'd like to thank you all for showing up, like. I'll try and sign a few ruddy autographs later." He attempted a smile. 

"Autographs?" asked Ultra Boy. 

Phantom Girl nudged him with her elbow. "It's supposed to be funny, Jo. Laugh a little, okay?" They both laughed, loudly, and some of the others caught on. Constantine looked a bit pleased, despite his practiced cynicism. 

"My name's John Constantine, and I represent the same century as our lovely Ms. Kara here," he continued. She giggled, despite herself. "She got all the looks and powers. I got to be in a rock 'n' roll band. Things even out." 

"What's rock 'n' roll?" said Power Boy. 

"Laugh," said Shrinking Violet. And they did. 

"Now, Ms. Kara and Colossus over there are going to have to take a short trip right now. Trust me, they'll both be back. They're just going to pick up a big swizzle stick we're gonna use on Mordru. We're going to get down to cases inside, I know, right quickly. I just think we owe this bird, er, girl, a round of applause, just as a going-away thing, and I promise we'll save her a piece of the pizza for when she gets back. That all right with you?" 

The Legionnaires responded with a round of cheers, and a "Long Live the Legion!" Kara flushed, smiled, looked down, and stepped lightly on Constantine's shoe. She said, sotto voce, "John, if you do this again, I swear I'm gonna pancake your foot." 

"Hey, I just wanted to say bloody 'thank you', Kara," he said, also softly. "And one more thing." 

"What's that?" 

"I hope your man makes it back," he said. 

She looked up. Constantine looked at her, steadily. She had nothing to say. Briefly, she squeezed his hand, then let go. She sought out Colossal Boy and grabbed his arm. "C'mon, Gim, we've got a date in Israel, and your flight ring won't get you there as fast as me." 

"Like you said," Gim murmured, and the two of them took off in a red-and-blue streak. 

Scant seconds after they did, Laurel rushed out of the building. "Oh, holy Rao, hi, everybody! Like, where's Kara? I've got something I want to show you all." 

Constantine cocked an eyebrow. 

"She just left," said Polar Boy. "What's up, Laurel?" 

"I'll show you what's up," she gushed. "Powers on!" 

She gave her flight ring to a wondering Ultra Boy, then picked up Tellus and Cosmic Boy, one in each hand, hefted them lightly to show the others she could do it, and then sprang into the sky and flew with both of them. 

Action Boy turned to his father. "Is this something unusual here, Dad?" 

Captain Action, still carrying Krellik, said, "Let's file it under 'usual', until we learn better." He approached White Witch. "Do you have someplace where we can stow this guy? And the others?" 

White Witch, who had been following Laurel's flight with joy, finally looked at him. "Oh, sorry. Sure. Right this way." 

They followed her. 

-S- 

Within a very short time, Supergirl and Gim Allon dropped out of the skies over Jerusalem. The IFF devices in their flight rings allowed them through the aerial checkpoints. Jews and Arabs had not made war on each other for a long time. That didn't mean they weren't careful. 

Kara gave the city a brief scan, coming down. The Dome of the Rock was still there, but it looked different from her era. The Wailing Wall was there, but you had to enter a force-field to get to it. The Garden of Gethsemane was still preserved, as were the Tombs of the Virgin, King David, and the Kings. There were structures that were probably synagogues, churches, and mosques, but, outside of the symbols they displayed, they didn't look much like churches from her time. 

Whatever. She was just glad Israel was still here. 

The two of them touched down on top of an apartment building and got their bearings. "Where is it supposed to be, Gim?" she asked. 

"Over there." He pointed in the general direction of the Zion Gate. He flew ahead and she followed.   
  
A rabbi and his congregation, leaving a temple, looked up, pointed, and oohed and aahed. A priest caught sight of them outside his window, crossed himself, and assumed that the man and woman were not angelic until he had more to go on. 

Supergirl and Colossal Boy landed near a thoroughfare full of land cars. "Around here?" she said. He nodded. 

She trained her eyes on the ground below them. 

Her X-ray vision pierced the concrete, foundation material, and soil as if they were not there. She had to admit, she enjoyed using this power. It was fun to be able to see through things. 

Before Gim could say, "Maybe I was wrong," she was spinning right into the ground. He backed off as clods of dirt spurted up. He spit out the quantity of it that wandered into his mouth. Kara had turned into a human mole. 

The hole she made was some six feet in diameter. She tunnelled down about 20 feet. Gim, walking over to it, heard her cry out. He rushed over to the edge of the hole. 

Supergirl was holding her hands out as if they had been burned. She looked astonished. 

By her booted feet, in the hole, mostly uncovered, was a simple, dirty, wooden spear with a metal tip. There didn't appear to be anything special about it. 

"Gim," she said. "I think you're going to have to take it. I can't touch it." 

"What happened?" he said, cautiously. 

"It felt like my hands would burn off if I kept hold of it," she said. "Give it a try, okay?" 

A policeman had stopped his hovercraft and was coming towards them. "What's going on here? Hey, are you..." 

"Yes, officer, please," said Gim, and dived into the hole. He used his flight-ring to let himself down safely. Then he said to Kara, "You think something that could burn your hands off is going to be safe for me to touch?" 

"Gim, please," she said. "You know about Kryptonians and magic. This thing may not be magic, but--it's got some kind of power." 

He went over, stooped, gave the spear's head a touch. He half expected a Sistine Chapel ceiling spark. 

Nothing. 

He touched it again. Still nothing. After a third touch, he went ahead, grabbed it in both hands, and pulled it out of the earth. 

"Hey, look at me," he joked. "The Jewish King Arthur." 

The policeman was looking down at both of them, and some rubberneckers had gathered and were also trying to nudge their way into a looking point. "Get back there," said the cop to the crowd. To Colossal Boy he said, "Are you Gim Allon? Whether you are or not, you've got to check with the city before making archaeological excavations. As if we still had anything down there." 

"We're kind of in a hurry, sir," he said. "Could you back up, please? We've got to go." 

He did back up. Kara and Gim soared out of the hole. The crowd finally recognized them. "It's Gim Allon." "Yeah, Colossal Boy. Did I tell you Uncle David knew his grandfather?" "Yeah, and that's Supergirl. What's she doing here?" "You never know. Maybe she's converting." 

"We'll fill the hole in if we can, when we get back," Supergirl assured the cop. Before he could say anything more, she wrapped her arms around Colossal Boy's waist, he held the Spear of Destiny in front of him with both hands so that it wouldn't contact her body, they leaped into the air, and were gone. 

The cop stood there for a second, then told the crowd to move on, and called headquarters to ask for an earth-mover. He paused, then said, "Because I've got a hole here, and Gim Allon made it. Okay? Thank you." 

He switched off, leaned against the hovercraft, and sighed. 

-S- 

The void the six Kryptonians and Dawnstar traversed was stranger even than warpspace. There were few points of reference here, not even the energy-fluxes that could be used sometimes as markers. They couldn't see much of anything, as a matter of fact, and Dev was silently glad that this was so. It could be that whatever existed here was mostly beyond human perception. That might be a blessing. 

But how could they know when they had reached their objective? Would it, too, be as invisible and intangible as whatever else lie in this plane? 

Dev doubted it. If Black Adam could find it, so could they. At least, he hoped so. 

Dawny, are you sure you know where this thing is?> he finally sent, forgetting it was not on PM. 

Of course,> she said, simply. Past the event horizon just ahead, and we're there.> 

What event horizon?> asked Superman V, one of the guys bringing up the rear. 

By the time he had gotten out the last syllable, a shaft of brilliant whiteness sprang into view. 

Its span looked as big as the diameter of Jupiter. It was whirring around like a pivot, and rotating at the same time. An aura that seemed to compose every color in the universe coruscated off it. 

The Cosmic Axis. 

Time for the alignment job,> said Dev. 

They flew towards it. 

To be continued... 


	17. Chapter 19

hells19a Supergirl and the Legion of Super-Heroes: 

Hellsister: Part 19   
by DarkMark 

Supergirl, Colossal Boy, and the Spear of Destiny arrived at the Legion's headquarters several minutes after their departure from Israel without incident. Her red-booted feet touched ground on the plaza, her leg muscles absorbing the shock of landing. She released her arms from about Gim's chest and he tumbled out of her grip. He poked the blunt end of the spear against the ground to regain his balance. 

"Whoo, not even time to get a holopostcard or call up the relatives," said Gim. "When this is over, I've gotta go back for awhile." 

Then, when she didn't say anything in response, he asked, "Kara, what's wrong?" 

Her jaw muscles were tight. "I'm nerved, Gim. This is something beyond even my experience. You've got something there that's supposed to be the spear that penetrated Jesus Christ's body at Calvary. It made my hands feel burned. Later, we're supposed to go on a mission that's in the neighborhood of Hell itself, if Constantine is right. Mordru's going to try and make himself one with the Power of Evil. I've been up against the Anti-Monitor himself and lived to tell about it...but this seems heavier." 

Gim looked at Supergirl. She was as brave a warrior as he'd ever known, but nobody was totally fear-free. He was coping by putting most of what they had to do out of his conscious mind. He put a reassuring arm about her shoulder. 

"There's a thing Rabbi Tuchman used to tell us in temple," he said. "'If we stand, God is with us. If we fall, God is still with us. So don't be afraid to fall, but do everything you can to stand.'" 

She smiled with the corner of her mouth. "Thank your rabbi for me. I'm not chickening out, Gim, don't worry. Let's join the others." 

The two of them flew into the headquarters building. 

-S- 

In the space above Daxam, twenty minutes yet remained till the asteroid entered a dense enough level of atmosphere. Fifty phase engine ships had arrived, and were deployed about the titanic world. The regular Daxamite ships were still keeping up their efforts to restrain Ar-Ual, and still having little luck. 

Inside the Legion cruiser, Element Lad and his fellows waited. Lightning Lass said, "Assuming enough of these things got here to help, how much time would they need to do it?" 

"I don't know," admitted Jan. "I don't think they've ever shifted a planet of this size before. I'm going to get suited up. Maybe I can still transmute enough of it to make a difference when she spills it." 

"I cannot believe a planet of this size has no lead deposits," rumbled Blok. 

Mon-El said, "Daxam has lead. It's like uranium or plutonium on Earth. We have detectors for it. We don't go near the stuff." He struck his hand against his thigh. "Blast it to the Pit. I just can't stand this waiting." 

Sun Boy replied, "We've got no choice, Mon. We've done what we can. Now, it's in the hands of the crews on those ships." 

"Yeah, yeah," retorted Mon. Then something caught his eye on the viewscreen. He pointed at it. "Jan. Jan, was that ship there before?" 

Element Lad swung his gaze to it. It was a phase engine ship. Was it new? 

He stuck an interfacer on his forehead. "Computer, give me a count on phase engines around Daxam." 

The synth voice replied, "51 standard phase engines. 52 standard phase engines. 54 standard phase engines. 60..." 

"That's enough, computer," said Jan Arrah. He took off the interfacer. But he moved in closer to the monitor, around which the other Legionnaires were now crowding. 

"It's working," said Element Lad. "It's working." 

"Thank you, Creator," breathed Mon-El. His hand was plastered to the viewscreen. 

Pol Krinn, Magnetic Kid, slapped Element Lad on the shoulder. "Way to go, Jan! Using phase engines to teleport other phase engines to Daxam. Who'd have thought of it?" 

Element Lad said, "If I'd thought of it a few hours ago, we wouldn't be in this fix. We still need a lot more of them to make this thing work. We also need at least as many tractor ships to be displaced in their place. Keep praying." 

The Daxamites had to send up at least 100 ships whose places could be taken by the phase ships. The phase engine ships around Rokyn could lock on to the Daxamite ships and exchange places with them, using their teleportational beams. The Daxamite ships would, in turn, appear near Rokyn once the exchange had taken place. In this way, the 100 phase ships could be brought into position around Daxam. If enough Daxamite ships were sent aloft, if the exchanges could be made in time. If. 

Lightning Lad regarded his friend. "Jan, in case I've never said this, I think you're one hell of a good Legion leader." 

"Thanks, Garth. We've still got about twenty minutes left to see if I'm worth a damn." 

And more phase engines appeared from warp-space, and positioned themselves about the world of Daxam. 

The woman pushing the asteroid forged ahead. One way or the other, within about twenty minutes, she would lay her burden down. 

-S-   
In another section of warp-space, the six Supermen and Dev-Em hurtled towards the Cosmic Axis. 

There's a slight irregularity to its motion, a bit of up-and-down wobble,> said Superman IV. That must be the problem.> 

Use your mike-vision, sons,> ordered Superman II. Find that bit of rock on it, and find it fast.> 

Dawnstar put her tracking skills to play, and quickly flew in the direction her senses indicated. She pointed. That area. Look. You may be able to see it.> 

Dev was the first to spot it. A small bit of brownish rock imbedded on the surface of the great shaft. I've got it,> he said, and broke formation at top speed. 

Dev,> called Superman III. He followed, but the Kryptonian spy was moving at top speed. The Axis was turning like a cosmic centrifuge, and the Supermen well knew that any section of their bodies could be pulped like an Earther's if they impacted it the wrong way. 

Perspective seemed to shift as one neared the Axis. The thickness of its shaft, which had seemed of planetary size, now appeared to be hardly bigger than a man. But it didn't shrink beyond that point. 

What Dev-Em was attempting was no less dangerous than breaking into the active area of a 20th Century NASA centrifuge, dodging its swinging, multi-G-velocity arm, and picking a stray bolt off of its central point. Even with the multi-light speed and planet-moving strength and nigh-invulnerability of a Kryptonian, it was more dangerous than that. 

And recovering the fragment of Eternity Rock was only half the battle. The awry movement of the Axis had to be stopped. The Supermen would have to somehow put it back on proper track, without miscalculation. 

That was the only chance for Rokyn to survive, and Rao only knew what would happen to the rest of the multiverse if they screwed it up worse. 

Dawnstar had to stop outside the reach of the Axis's great arm. She switched her telepathic plug to PM, without specifying a user, and muttered prayers to the Great Spirit. 

The former Knave of Krypton reached the Cosmic Axis proper. The great rainbow aura surrounding it now sparked off his form as well, like the hues of Rainbow Canyon on his dead homeworld. Dev was very aware of what would befall him if he missed his mark. But he was more aware of what would happen to Rokyn, if he faltered. 

Before any of the Supermen could reach him, he positioned himself below the Axis, gathered himself, and sprang upward. He reached a speed that would have shamed a commercial spacecraft.   
Superman III tried to launch himself after Dev. His father caught him by the cape and hauled him down. 

You'd've been off a fraction,> said the elder Superman. If he doesn't make it out...I'll try next.> 

They watched. 

-S- 

By the time Supergirl and Colossal Boy got to the Legion's meeting table, Krellik, Professor Zoom, and Tyr had been stored in Inertron cells alongside Black Adam. Drang still fumed in his chalk circle prison, not far from the meeting table. He looked at Kara and snarled. 

The first thing Kara noticed was Laurel, flying towards her with a giddy smile on her face. The next thing she noticed was that Laurel had no flight-ring on her hand. 

"What gives, Laurel?" asked Gim, who hadn't noticed her missing ring. 

Laurel landed barefoot beside Kara. "Oh, Kara, watch this!" 

Before Supergirl could protest, Laurel scooped her up bodily and tossed her towards the ceiling. 

"Laurel, what--", Kara began. Laughing, Laurel caught her and threw her up again. When Kara reached the ceiling, she used her flight power to keep herself up there. "Am I seeing things, or have you got--powers?" 

"Don't worry, Kara, she's been throwing everybody up and catching them," said Ultra Boy. "She's got powers, all right. She's gonna wear them out, too." 

Colossal Boy stepped forward to hug Laurel, and did so, forgetting he was holding the spear. "Ouch!" she yelled, and pushed him away, hard. He went sprawling. The spear clattered to the floor and rolled against a wall. 

"Grab it!" said Constantine. Phantom Girl stepped over, extended her hands cautiously, ready to phase out if something untoward happened, and touched the spear. Then she picked it up, and carried it back to Gim. 

"What have you got there?" said Laurel. "It felt like a hot iron on me. Don't tell me I've lost my invulnerability!" 

"Calm down, Laurel," said Kara, descending to the floor. "It did me that way, too. It's got supernatural energies. A no-no for us Krypts." 

"Can say that again," said Constantine. "Keep ahold of that, Colossus. Treat it like an M-16, 'cause that's what it's going to be for you in this one." 

"What he means is, don't let it out of your sight," said White Witch. "But don't get too near me with that. From its energy output, I wouldn't even handle it with lead gloves." 

Captain Action opined, "I wouldn't want to touch it, myself. Even though I'm an Episcopal, my powers derive from the energies of beings like Zeus, Hercules, and Heimdall, as Carl's do from Mercury. It might not like us." 

Dream Girl asked, "The spear's anti-Episcopal? What is that?" 

"Skip it, Nura," sighed Mysa. 

"So, Laurel, this is fabulous!" said Kara, holding her kinsman by both bare shoulders. "Tell me how this came about. Were your powers latent?" 

"Well, oh, gosh, sort of," bubbled Laurel. "Just a minute. 'Power off.'" She seemed to shudder for a second, then came back to herself. "Brainy told me not to use them too long. He said they'd take a lot of energy from my body and my, oh, I don't know--'alter-body', I think he said. It's like spirit, only it has to do with energy levels. Like, here's how it happened. He asked me if I wanted to try an experiment that might affect my power output. I said, 'Sure, anything.' I mean like, invulnerability is nice, but--" 

"Yes, honey, go on," prompted Kara. "And then what?" 

"Oh, and then he took me to one of those reclining chairs, had me grip a pair of handles, and he said he needed to put me in a trance, you know, hypnosis. I don't know just what he said when he had me under, but it worked. When I say, 'Power on,' I can do this." She leaped 20 feet up and touched the ceiling, coming back down to the carpet with a huff. "Then I say, 'Power off', and I'm myself again." 

"Wow," said Kara. "Just like Mary Marvel and 'Shazam'. That's incredibly neat, Laurel. And is there any time restraint on your powers?" 

"About six hours a day. Anything more than that, and Brainy says I might get an overstrain. But, I mean, like, that's enough! For 25 per cent of the time, I can be a real Kryptonian. And--" Laurel's face fell, slightly. "Oh, Sheol. I'm sorry...I forgot about Rokyn, for a minute." 

Supergirl's eyes widened. "You don't mean it's..." 

"No, Kara, not as far as we know," said Cosmic Boy. "We're still waiting to hear from Dev, Dawny, and the Supermen. As for Element Lad, we're monitoring the situation." 

Kara relaxed a bit. "So where is Brainy? I feel like giving that crazy green Coluan a big hug and a peck on the cheek for what he did for you." 

"He's in quicksleep, Kara," said Laurel. "He should be out in about an hour. But he was really tired, and, like, he said, 'There's nothing I can do about the other situations. When I wake up, Rokyn and Daxam will either be there, or they won't.' Then he got a sleep-patch and went to bed." 

"Oh." Kara looked at all the others for a second: Laurel, Gim, Cosmic Boy, Tellus, Power Boy, Sensor Girl, Shrinking Violet, Phantom Girl, Ultra Boy, Captain Action, Action Boy, Dream Girl, White Witch, and Constantine. And with all that power, there was nothing they could do to save two planets. Brainy was right. It was all up to Element Lad's team, and to Dev's team. 

"How much longer on Daxam?" she asked. 

Sensor Girl responded. 

"Fifteen minutes," she said. 

-S- 

Element Lad was not in the Legion ship as the final phaser engine ships materialized. Blok counted them off with the computer's tally. "146...148...150," he said. "Given five minutes for power-up and an undetermined time for activation and displacement..." His booming voice trailed off. 

"Then what, Blok?" asked Magnetic Kid. 

"Then it is still indeterminate," admitted Blok. "It works, or it does not." 

"It'll work," said Saturn Girl. "It has to work." 

Judiciously, nobody else replied to that. 

The cruiser had been brought above the asteroid and Ar-Ual, outside Mordru's force-field. Element Lad and Mon-El hovered below the great rock, pacing it down. Jan could sense the gravity of the giant planet tugging at him, and upped the gain on his flight-ring to compensate. 

Mon-El couldn't do anything, but was not willing to sit inside the Legion ship at this moment. 

Both of them could see the expression of grim terror on Ar-Ual's face as she pushed the asteroid downward, its tide of molten lead splashing on its surface. "Doesn't look like she's doing this willingly," observed Jan. 

"Doesn't matter," said Mon-El. 

Jan checked the time readout on his helmet. "They've got about five minutes before she dumps this thing," he said. "We'll be just above the horizon of the phase-out, if they can do it." 

"Don't say 'if'," said Mon-El. 

Element Lad sighed. 

Around the entire massive globe of Daxam, the world that was big enough to be Krypton's twin, the 150 phase engine ships of the United Planets fleet positioned themselves. They linked up to four adjoining ships by long, loose tractor beams. The entire fleet was hooked into the communications system of the lead ship. 

One minute till the asteroid hit dense enough atmosphere. 

The fleet commander hit a button on his console. He said nothing. 

An activation signal was sent to the 150 ships. 

Almost as one, their teleportational beams lanced down to the surface of Daxxam. 

The blackness of space was fading and the daytime sky of Daxam was coming into view for Element Lad and Mon-El. 

Ar-Ual was turning the asteroid. 

Jan Arrah swore at the top of his lungs. 

The damnable lead was flowing over the side... 

"You bitch!" screamed Mon-El, hurling himself upward, his propulsion unit on full, pushing him up towards the great rock, a stream of molten metal spattering off his suit. 

Element Lad loosed his power, up to maximum coverage, and knew it wouldn't be enough. 

At that moment, Daxam shimmered and vanished. 

Another planet, from the universe that Daxam now temporarily existed in, materialized. Its name was Thoron. If one had not been looking at Daxam when the changeover was made, one might not have noticed it in time. 

But Element Lad had been, and had noticed it. 

He still kept spraying out his transmutation power, turning the hurtling lead into so much helium. Inevitably, some lead got down, vaporizing on the way to the planet's surface. Admittedly, it would have been rough going for the Thoronites, if they had possessed the same weakness as the Daxamites. But they did not. 

There was no telling what damage an asteroid strike of this size would do, though. And Mordru's force-field had faded. 

"Grab that rock!" shouted Element Lad, hurling himself away from it, trying to transmute as much of the massive meteor as he could. 

Within the Legion's cruiser, Magnetic Kid positioned his feet against the side of the ship, said, "Blok, anchor me," and held out his hands. From them came a magnetic force almost as powerful as that of his brother, Cosmic Boy. 

The elements of iron within the massive meteor responded to his power. The asteroid slowed a bit, but dragged the Legion ship down with it. The commander of the phase engine ships was alerted to the situation. "Hit that with tractors," he ordered. 

10 ships, in the right position to do so, did. Twenty Daxamite ships, still left after the exchange, joined in. The latter had suffered massive power drains from their earlier efforts, but they still made it work. 

The beams grabbed the massive asteroid, slowed its descent, and finally immobilized it. The Legionnaires, hurtling towards it, reversed polarity and made a safe landing on its surface. Blok, holding Magnetic Kid, fell back on his stony kiester. His charge was safe. Lightning Lad, Lightning Lass, Saturn Girl, and Sun Boy were a bit bruised, but unhurt. 

The asteroid hung between sky and earth, and the Thoronites below marvelled at it, and wondered if they were under attack, or had just been saved. 

Before much else could be said, the inner door of the airlock opened. Mon-El, still in his space suit, came in, carrying an unconscious Ar-Ual. 

"Get her to sick bay fast," he clipped. "The red sun hit her when the field came down. She's almost dead." 

-S- 

Kara and the others were celebrating in table-banging glee at Element Lad's words. He looked like he'd been through a war against the Time-Trapper, but he was still smiling. 

"So we managed to haul the asteroid back up, and the cruiser picked me up as well. After we stabilized the rock in orbit, the ships reversed the phasing and brought Daxam back, atmosphere, oceans, dirt and all. The fleet's hauling the rock away now. We've got Ar-Ual in sick bay, but I think she'll come around once we get out of red sun influence. She hasn't awakened yet." 

"Carrying a Kryptonian's like carrying a cobalt bomb on board," mused Power Boy. 

"They've got Mon-El," pointed out Kara. "He'll be able to deal with her. But this is just fantastic, Jan. Congratulations!" 

He rubbed the back of his neck. "Thanks, on behalf of the group and me. I'm going to get some sleep before we make home. Keep us posted when you hear from the Kryptonians, okay?" 

"If we hear from them," said Action Boy, quietly. 

"Never say 'if'," snapped Element Lad. "I said and meant 'when'. I'm out." 

The screen image winked out and was replaced by computer readouts. 

Laurel threw her arms around Kara. "It's great! They did it! They saved the whole frabbing planet--oops, excuse me!" She hugged Supergirl. 

"It's all right, dear. They did save the whole frabbing planet." Kara hugged her back. But over Laurel's shoulder, she picked out White Witch and Constantine looking at her. 

One ordeal was over. But two more remained. And the roughest one would fall to Kara, Gim, and whomever else would aid them, from whatever distance. 

Despite herself, she shivered. 

-S- 

Elsewhere in Metropolis, a figure in a hat and cloak seated himself against a building wall and ignored most of the passers by. He wore an archaic cloak and hat, though his dark clothing was in fashion. The brim of his hat shadowed his eyes. He held a black walking cane between his knees, and waited. 

Around the corner a strange apparition limped. 

It appeared to be a man, of six foot height. His clothes might once have been white, but they were dirty and frayed at the elbows and knees. The shoes were padded with paper in an attempt to plug the holes in their soles. His hair was white, he had a scraggly beard, he carried a dirty white trenchcoat over one arm, and he, too, walked with a cane. The limp showed that he needed it worse than the other man. The cane, too, was white. 

On his eyes were a pair of very dark sunglasses. 

The cloaked man got up from his perch and took the other man by the arm. The white-haired one recoiled in panic and tried to bring up his cane. "Peace, friend, it is me," said the man in the hat. "Lower your stick." 

The old man with the white cane still looked frightened. "Do I, I know you? What are you, what orientation? What are you called? When am I? Am I still walking?" 

"Yes, you know me. Our paths have crossed more than once. We have fought in several campaigns, but my path leads to places you have already forsaken. You are still walking. Come. We are needed." 

"Needed where?" said the old man, gasping. "I have been walking so long." 

"Yes, my friend, but we must walk a little further, and a little more quickly. Come, I will help you." He encircled the old man's arm with his own, at the crook of his elbow, and guided him along. 

"Where are you taking me?" spluttered the blind man. 

"To a situation of great complexity," said the other. "The Dark rages again. We will join other champions of this time to attempt calming it." 

The old man seemed to calm a bit. "The Dark," he said. "I know The Dark. Do I know you?" 

"Yes, my friend." 

"And what are you called?" 

"A stranger." 

And the two walked on. 

To be continued... 


	18. Chapter 20

hells20a Supergirl and the Legion of Super-Heroes: 

Hellsister: Part 20   
by DarkMark 

Mordru had penetrated enough of the veil to look beyond the final barriers. 

He gazed upon the plain where once Light and Darkness had battled through pawns, and then reached an agreement, and put their pawns away. That was a millenium ago. 

Little had changed of Hell, at least from the exterior. The whole living or semi-living mass which formed its outer walls was still a nauseating bulwark of incomprehensible complexity. Mordru felt that, if he stared at it long enough, perhaps he, too, would lose his mind trying to fathom it. He heard the shrieks of the damned, and wondered how many were from people he knew. 

The gate was still what it was, an unimaginative gate with a keeper whose form could not be told in three dimensions. 

There was a vasting plain stretching away from that, and on the other side was Heaven. 

At least, he thought it was Heaven. Never having been there, he could not be an authority. But the emerald's lore tended to confirm that this was, indeed, a version of Paradise. So much greenery, pleasant hills, silvery mansions, and no gates to speak of. But Mordru guessed that anyone trying to enter without permission would find it an even harder place to storm than Hell. 

He saw no one in the shining city, and supposed that he was not meant to see anyone there. But he suspected their existence. 

He vouchsafed himself a glance at the skies above the plain. 

There it was. Yes, indeed, there it was. The ultimate objective. 

A circular pattern that seemed to have grown into the sky itself, the dark area with the one white dot, the light area with the one black dot. Perhaps, somehow, they really were hands, not quite clasped but abutting on each other's territory. 

He had used much energy in getting as far as he had. Now, he would rest a bit, before the final assault, which would take much power and would need much swiftness. Should he falter, The Dark might not take kindly to an attempted invasion of its being. Not even Mordru could imagine what it might do, in such a case. 

But he would not falter. He felt confident of that. 

So Mordru rested awhile, and watched The Dark and The Light. 

And wondered if they were watching him back. 

-S- 

White Witch and Constantine had the floor, for the moment. Mysa was talking. 

"We're going to attempt to open a portal to the Netherworld as soon as we hear from Dev and his crew. If we don't hear from him in about an hour, we're going to have to go on ahead. We all know that we have no choice." 

Mysa stopped and took a deep breath, then swept the faces about the meeting table with her gaze. John was fiddling with a cigarette to give his hands something to do. 

"Let me emphasize that what we are doing is opening a passageway to the land of the Dead. From what I have learned in my research, and from what John has told me...the people we send through the gate will probably be in the vicinity of the White Realm...and of Hell. Kara and Gim will be facing not only Mordru, but the embodiments of Light and Dark in our universe. I...cannot reduce this in mere words to you. I have been an adept most of my life. It scares the hell out of me. And I'm not even one of those who are going over. I recommend Supergirl and Colossal Boy for our highest citation of courage, in doing so." 

"Motion is carried unanimously," said Phantom Girl, without authority but, she knew, with everyone's agreement. 

"We have faced Mordru many times before, and beaten him. This time, it's going to be different. He's boosted his power to an unimaginable level. So much so, that he may not even take notice of us. At least, he hasn't yet." 

Thank the Lord for small favors, thought Gim, holding the Spear of Destiny between his knees. 

"But we do have several things on our side. For one, we apparently have some higher forces working for us, or perhaps we're working for them. The vision Gim had of Nabu and Melderkin seems to confirm that. For another, we've got the Spear of Destiny. Just the possession of this artifact by certain people has changed the course of history. It may be the only weapon that can be of proof against Mordru now. For a third, you've got John and myself, and I have to admit now that we're one of the best magic teams you could have in your corner. For a fourth...we're the Legion. We've never been beaten yet. And even if we have to go to the gates of Hell to do it...we're going to bring back another win." 

"That's a truth," said Ultra Boy. "Long live the Legion!" 

After the "Long Live the Legion!" chant was answered and died down, Mysa permitted herself a smile. Then she said, "I'm going to let John talk to you for a little bit, and then we'll break for the rest of the hour. There will be things you'll want to get done, I'm sure. All right, John, they're all yours." 

"Thank'oo very much, Mysa," said John. He lit his twisted cigarette, stood up, took a couple of drags, and gathered his thoughts. Crikey, guv, you're acting more of a wuss than when you had to give a speech in your seventh year, he thought. He pulled out the cigarette and used the thumb of that hand to scratch between his eyes. The Legionnaires grew a bit restive, waiting. 

One of Computo's modules came out, hovering, with a small tray which it positioned under John's cigarette. He smiled briefly and tapped off the ashes. "With perks like these, I might jolly well stay here," he cracked. There was some laughter, and he and they were grateful for it. 

He began. "All right, let me give you all summat of the plan. Kara and Gim are gonna be our away team this time. What we're gonna be is the home team. That means that Mr. Fin here...er, Tellish?...well, anyway, he's the telepath on hand. So what I'm gonna ask you to do, Mr., eh..." 

"Tellus," spoke the amphibian, through his meaty lips. 

"Right, Tellush, I'm going to ask you to form a mind-bind with Ms. Kara here and give us bulletins from the front, so to speak. I don't want you to mess with her mind, just be able to tell us what she sees. This, mind you, is gonna be the roughest job on the whole team. The last mate I had at this position is still a candidate for the rubber room. So look me in the ruddy eye and tell me if you're up to it." 

Tellus turned his helmeted head towards John. It was Constantine who had to swallow. 

"I am a Legionnaire," he said, and that was all there was to it. 

"Right," said John, and dug in his ear with his little finger. "Sorry, wax buildup. Now comes the fun part. This is a game that the whole family can play. Or most of 'em, anyway." 

He leaned on the table with both hands, the Silk Cut still smoking between two fingers. "What we're going to do is run your basic seance number. I'm on one end of the circuit. Ms. Witch is on the other. We're all going to hold hands like we were in a maypole dance. 'Cept there ain't no bloody maypole." 

"John, we know what a seance is," said Cosmic Boy. 

"What's a maypole?" asked Shrinking Violet. 

"I wish we had more mystics'n just us two, to kind of spread the load around, but it's going to be just us," said Constantine. "At any rate..." 

"You do have more than just the two of you," said another voice. 

The group turned in the direction it came from. 

Sensor Girl had spoken. 

"Sense, what are you saying?" asked Laurel. "Who are you?" 

The masked woman folded her hands on the table. "That is not important. I have some small familiarity with the mystic arts. I shall serve as third." 

"Now see here, luv, this isn't amateur night," said Constantine. "You could get yourself bloody well killed. Two gents I did this number with last time around did. The corners catch the action." 

"John's right, Sensor Girl," said Mysa. "Even for top-line mystics, this is going to be an ordeal." 

"I have been through an ordeal!" said the red-and-white-clad woman, with surprising force. "I am a Legionnaire. And I have been a Legionnaire longer than you. I shall be the third." 

The rest of the group was astonished at her statement. Minds raced, trying to put together data to fit a possible face behind the mask. Supergirl still looked thoughtful. 

John broke the silence. "If that's the way you want it, dear. All right, three's better'n two, I hope. But any number can play, in a way. Here's what I want the rest of you to do. 

"All the rest of you are going to be holding hands, completing the circle. We're going to concentrate our power on keeping things together...kinda bein' the away team's backstop. Now, I've gotta ask you first, do any of you have a power of some sort that could hurt the rest of us if it went off when we were linked up? 'Cause if you do, I'd prefer you out. Thing is, The Dark might notice us. It did last time. Sargon the Sorceror burnt to a bloody crisp. One second, he was alive. Next second, he was crepes suzette. Dead. 

"And we had to hang on to his bloody dead hands. 

"I'm not jokin' about that one. The people on both sides of him got superficial burns. We still had to keep the circle together. If we didn't, we'd get worse'n if we were all soakin' our feet and somebody dropped us a live power cable. A minute later, Miss Zatanna started puttin' out smoke. Her dad, Zatara, took the power inside himself instead. He went like a sonofa--like a Roman candle. Roast beef, down to his burnin' top hat. We still had to hold onto him. I got my mitt burned right smartly, an' counted myself lucky." 

Nobody was talking. Outside of very quiet breathing, nobody was making a sound. 

"So what I'm tryin' to say is, expect casualties. We're about to plug into something that's very real, what could have the world on toast if it wanted to, and get up hungry the next morning. I hate to sound like the damn wing commander in a World War Number Two thingy, but anybody doesn't want to come along on this'n, for personals...I'll understand." He looked at Captain Action and Action's son. "Cap, you two, you're just pinch-batters. The kid's got a lot of livin' to do, I trow, and he could use a dad. I'd really rather leave you out, no offense. S'up to you." 

The man in the captain's cap gave him back a solid look. "I agree about Carl, John. He can sit this one out, but as long as I'm here, I'm--" 

"Hold it, Dad," said Action Boy, putting a hand on his father's shoulder. "Seriously. You told me never to back down in the face of a challenge. You had faith enough in my guts to let me be your partner. We both know that hasn't exactly been hazard-free, don't we? I'm in on this one, with you or not." 

"Carl, I could order you to go." There was a beat of silence. 

"And Dad, I could tell you I'm not going." Action Boy's gaze didn't waver from his father's. 

Clive Arno turned back to Constantine. "All right, then. But you'd better bring my boy through this thing, if he still wants to participate." 

John looked at them both intently. "I make no friggin' promises, Cap'n. If you're not prepared to see your son burn up before your eyes, and if you, kid, aren't prepared to see the same about your father, get the hell up and go. Like I said, I'm not hot on the idea of your participation." 

Carl Arno said, "The coins we take our powers from have some magical properties. I think we're here for a good reason. I'm staying, Mr. Constantine." 

Captain Action gave his son a tender but stony look. Then he turned back to John, and said nothing. 

"If'n I had a basin here, I'd wash my hands like Pontius bloody Pilate," said Constantine. "What about the rest of you? Anyone else?" 

Colossal Boy, Cosmic Boy, Tellus, Polar Boy, Power Boy, Sensor Girl, Shrinking Violet, Phantom Girl, Ultra Boy, Captain Action, Action Boy, Dream Girl, Star Boy, Shadow Lass, Timber Wolf, Laurel Kent, and Supergirl all did their share of looking at each other, wondering if any were going to back down, looking and finding the fear and courage in their fellows' eyes. 

"All right, then. See you in about half an hour." Constantine got up and, sticking his hands in his coat pockets, ambled off to the door. 

Power Boy grasped Laurel Kent's hand before she could get up from the table. "Laurel, I, uh, wanna let you know that you've always been a really, really great friend to me. I mean, through the Academy, on up to now. And, um, could I sit beside you at the table when we start? Y'know, just as a friend kind of thing?" 

Laurel favored him with a tired smile. "If it's okay with John and Mysa, it's okay with me. Now I've got to go, Jed. And thanks, you've been a good friend, too." She pecked him on the forehead. 

Shrinking Violet was standing before Colossal Boy, who held the Spear in one hand. They were silent for a moment. Then she blinked back tears, and embraced him. He hugged her back. 

Phantom Girl and Ultra Boy sat at the table and held hands. Neither smiled. "If one of us has to go, or both of us, I'm glad we'll be together, Jo," she said. 

"I'm very glad we're together," said Jo Nah. "But don't sell Legion Luck short yet. And if we get through this thing, I want to marry you." 

"If we do, I will," she said. Then they sadly kissed and hugged for a long time. 

Tellus and Polar Boy found themselves together. "Well, we're the newest hands here, if Sensor Girl told us the truth," said Brek Bannin. "Interesting if we have to die this soon in the game, right?" 

Tellus shifted his great yellow-and-purple-hued bulk. "It is terrifying," he rumbled. "But within a short time, it will be done. Thank you for being my teammate, Polar Boy." 

Polar Boy swallowed. "Thanks right back at ya, you big, swivel-headed slug." They shook hands. 

Dream Girl and Star Boy were together, holding one hand apiece and looking sick and in love at the same time. They'd been on the edge many times before, faced Darkseid, the Time-Trapper, the Legion of Super-Villains, and all the rest. But this time it felt different. It felt so nauseatingly different. 

Finally, Thom said to her, "Do you think we'd have time to before they get started?" 

Dream Girl, not smiling, but still looking into his eyes, said, "I can't imagine anything I'd rather do first, if we might not be here to do it afterward." 

They walked out of the room and headed for Nura's quarters. 

Shadow Lass and Timber Wolf found themselves across from each other at the table. "Know what I'm thinking, Tasmia?" said Wolf, looking casually at her. 

"What?" 

"Both that I'm glad Ayla isn't here right now, and wishing that she was." 

Shadow Lass nodded, slowly. "Just the way I'm feeling about Mon. Brin, I'm sorry it didn't work between you and Lightning Lass." 

"Yeah," he said. 

"But if we can't be with our lovers right now, I'm glad to be with friends. Like you." 

"Yeah," he said, smiling briefly, and sighed as he settled back. "Me, too. Cripes, why don't we just get this thing done?" 

She had no ready answer for that, so they talked of other things. 

Captain Action and his son sat beside each other and tried to find words. "I didn't want to lose you," said the elder hero. "I know you're going to be draft bait before much longer, but I still didn't want to lose you." 

"I know, Dad," said Carl. "Listen, for what it's worth, you're the best father I can imagine a kid ever having. It's been hard on you, with Mom gone, but still..." 

"Ah, your mother," said Captain Action. "Well, there's one thing to be said for this. If we die, at least we'll have somebody who'll welcome us over. And we'll both be glad to see her." 

Carl grasped his father's hand. "We will, Dad. But we're not going to see Mom for a good while yet." 

"Maybe not, son," said Captain Action. And they talked of other things. 

Supergirl ducked out, noticing Cosmic Boy and Colossal Boy talking. Laurel called to her, but she only waved. She wanted to talk to Constantine, get as much data as she could about the Other Side. Kara still shivered, not knowing what she was going to face, and glad of it. 

When she went into the hall, she saw Constantine going into the kitchen and schussing the door shut behind him. The Kryptonian girl pushed off the carpet and flew to the door, thought about opening it, and opted to use her super-hearing first to find out what he was doing. 

She heard John Constantine talking in an empty room. 

"Hello, I know You're listening," he said. "Sorry to bother You in the middle of the day and all. Look, we're in a bit of a bind. I know y'got summat y'could have against me. Let's not get into that now, all right? I'm not askin' any favors for me, in particular. Well, I'd prefer not to go like instant-start charcoal, but what the hell, excuse me, that just slipped out. 

"I'm askin' for the kids. If they could be brought through this thing simon-pure, I'd really appreciate it. And the two Action guys, they shouldn't even be in this. Them gettin' their trousers burnt really wouldn't be Marquis of Queensbury. Now, would it? 

"But the thing I'm really askin'...the thing I'm really askin'...is for Miss, excuse me, Ms. Kara there. And maybe for her guy, too. Now, don't get me wrong, I'm not poaching her. But the kid's got something to her. Makes me feel kinda good, hangin' around her. You know what I'm talkin' about? Well, I expect so. She's one solid gal, she is. And from what I've gathered here, she and that Dev guy haven't had much time together. So it'd be really bleedin' improper for one or both of 'em to catch the night train prematurely, now, wouldn't it? I mean, wouldn't it? 

"So it's like...if'n You can bring 'er through this...and maybe her man, too...You've got my marker. For whatever that's worth. I may have walked the fence, but I don't welsh. Ask me mates. I've gone hungry till next week's payday to pay off a bet." 

Constantine was silent for a second. Kara made no sound at all. 

"Want me to sweeten the pot? Well, what? All right, I'll go to church. Just once! What else? Ah, lemme see...oh, cripes, I would think of that. I don't really wanna do that. Oh, all right. If you get 'em both through, I'll...I'll vote for Maggie Thatcher. 

"But just once!" 

There was a pause, and a sound of shoes scuffing. Then Constantine said, "Oh, one more thing. If that bloke Rao is anywhere in the block, he better come through for them. He blew it with Krypton. If he blows it with this one, I'll come up there and kick his ruddy pants for him. That's all." 

Kara floated up to the ceiling and spread-eagled herself against it as John opened the door. He looked both ways, then walked in the direction of the guest quarters. 

She looked after him for a few seconds, then flew back to the meeting room. 

And she wondered about Dev. 

-S- 

Dev rocketed upward, willing himself to multi-light speed, and knowing well it might not be enough against the deadly rotating arm of the Cosmic Axis. 

He went up at an angle, his super-brain calculating the point at which his path would bisect that of the Axis's arm at the point in which the mite of Eternity Rock was embedded in its surface. Optimistically, he thought he might avoid the Axis's sweep even if he missed the rock fragment, and swoop over it to safety, ready for another try. 

More realistically, he knew he had a chance with a decimal point and a whole bunch of zeroes after it before you saw a number of one or higher. The probability was much greater that he'd turn into a splattered bug on a hovercraft windshield. 

All the prayers had been said. He barely had time to think of Kara, and of Rokyn. He had already considered that, if he went splat, the five Supermen might not have power enough to realign the Axis. Hell, the six of them might not have enough. 

Then the mighty shaft of whiteness was on a plane with him, and it was coming at him with insane velocity. 

Dev hurled himself up in a curve, one hand stretched downward, his head bent down towards the Axis arm, his microscopic vision picking the rock fragment out as it circled rapidly on the spinning curved surface. 

He reached out. 

He made contact. 

The super-tactile sense of a Kryptonian told him that his scraping fingers had made contact with the curved, spinning smoothness of the Axis. Its swiftness burned his hand. If he spent more than another instant holding it, he felt that his fingers would be sanded off to the nubs. 

Then, as he completed the thought, an irregular surface. He bent his fingers deliberately, his body still in motion, still arcing over the Axis arm, and damned well wouldn't let go. 

Dev was spun around the arm by its centrifugal motion, while the Supermen below made ready to grab him, if they could do so and not risk tearing him apart. 

The green-suited son of Krypton whipped away from the Axis arm, hurtling into warpspace. The five others had their telepathic plugs turned up as high as they could, straining for a thought from him. 

There was none, simply because Dev didn't have time enough to formulate a thought. He was volplaning away from the Axis, out of control, trying madly to halt his flight, and barely aware that he might be flung millions of miles away--or whatever was their warpspace equivalent--before he could halt his motion, or even slow it. 

However, he didn't go that far. 

Dev's body impacted against an object that moved backwards a bit with him, but with controlled speed. The object was about his size, and was acting as a shock absorber. He grunted, hurt, bruised by the contact, but not injured. He guessed, wildly, that he had hit something human. One of the Supermen, probably. Who-->, he began. 

Without responding, the other flung Dev back in the direction from whence he came. Dev didn't have time to crane his head back and see which Superman it was. He was busy taking note of two things. 

First, the fingers of one hand were hurting. But they were still wrapped tightly about something, and he felt it, and was almost-but-not-quite afraid to open them, even as he hurtled back towards the Axis. He looked in his hand, and knew what he would find there. 

The small, craggy, yellowish brown, and incredibly hard fragment of Eternity Rock. 

I've got it,> he broadcast wildly to himself, to the Supermen, and to whomever else might be listening, including even Rao. I'VE GOT IT!> 

Dev looked below him, even as he added his speed to that of the one who had hurled him, and saw he was bypassing all five of the Supermen. He blinked and checked again. All five of them saw him, and were shouting words of congratulation and encouragement to him, words which, when he had a chance to consider them later, would almost reduce him to tears of gratitude. For Dev, despite it all, was a sentimental and courageous man. 

He shoved the small fragment of rock into his pants and soared back towards the Axis. The Supermen were flying towards it as well, in individual parabolas that would position them on opposite sides of the great arm. 

Five Supermen. That meant none of them could have caught him, and hurled him back. 

It could be Mon-El, thought Dev, if he got back in time. It could even be Kal, if he'd been contacted, and he selfishly hoped he hadn't. It didn't feel like a woman, so it probably wasn't Kara. And he knew Dawnstar didn't have enough power to hurl him that way. 

That was about all the time he had before he swung into position alongside two of the Supermen, his arms thrust foward, palms curved, and prepared to make contact again with the Cosmic Axis. 

They had worked it out beforehand. Dev and Supermen II and III would latch on to one end of the Axis's spinning arm, far away from its pivot point. Supermen IV through VI would pit themselves against the other arm, from the opposite side, and try and slow its motion long enough to realign the Axis, correcting its deadly wobble. 

There was a damned good chance that they'd all get their fool arms torn off doing it. But there wasn't anything else they could do. 

No time to worry about what time paradoxes would be created if any of all of the Supermen died in this action. He'd chosen all of them after they had fathered the next generation of Supermen, anyway. A Superman VII would be left to carry on the line. 

A safe distance from the Axis, but still close enough to watch everything, Dawnstar hung in the warp-void, and continued her prayer-chant. Manitou, she said, lend strength to our warriors' arms. Let the great shaft be corrected, and let us save their world. 

It was the only thing she could do now. It was all up to the Krypts, and to Manitou. 

Dev, Superman II, and Superman III swung under the great Axis arm, their bodies lying flat as it passed over them, looking up at it, and grabbed its spinning surface with their mighty hands. 

The contact force was astonishing. 

If a cosmic baseball pitcher had thrown a white dwarf star past a batter and Dev had been the catcher, he felt that the impact could have been no greater. 

His lips came away from his teeth in a terrible grimace of effort and pain. All of the others were hanging on, spinning about the arm, not letting go, but all about as agonized as himself. 

The six Kryptonians exerted every iota of their energy. Mentally, they all had a clear picture of the angle towards which the Axis had to be aligned. They also had an accurate calculation of how far off the Axis presently was. Each of them, singly, was capable of moving an Earth-sized planet out of orbit. 

And it still wasn't enough. 

The mighty Axis was only slowing infitesimally. The angle of correction was not great enough. They would not yield, they would continue their effort till each of them fell dead in warpspace. And yet, Dev sensed that they would not succeed. Their power was not quite enough. Not quite... 

Then, suddenly, he felt a shock of new contact along the Axis arm. 

A new presence had been added to his end of the arm. With sweat pouring off his brow and evaporating into the void, Dev wrenched his head to the right to see who it was. 

There, positioned just to the right of the Dev-Superman II-Superman III grouping, was a man, clad in a red-and-yellow costume, a white cape trimmed with gold hanging from a golden rope about his neck, a yellow lightning bolt on his chest, and white epaulets of some sort on his shoulders. He, too, was pushing against the great arm, and putting his utmost effort into it, and showing the strain. 

At the same time, he was giving Dev a grin, like an excited kid. 

Who in Sheol is that?>, rasped Dev, in between grunts of effort. 

Who in Sheol cares? Keep pushing!>, snapped Superman II, beside him. 

One side was imbalanced now, it was true. But the power of seven was more than the power of six. And now, the six dared hope that this, finally, might be enough for their task. 

Raaaao,> groaned Dev, shoving away as hard as he could against the hurtling arm. Rokynnnnn.> 

The others began to take up the two-word chant as well, like laborers at a terrible task. Raoooo,> their telepathy resounded in six brains. Rokyn.> 

And what the newcomer thought, they had no idea, for he had no telepathic plug. But he seemed to know what he was doing. 

Dev looked at the angle of the Axis. He checked it again, and again, in the space of a second. 

It's changing,> he sent with an effort. 

Keep pushing,> ordered one of the Supermen, and nobody knew or cared which one. 

How much time they had left before Rokyn burst into nova-space, none of them accurately knew, but they sensed that not a large amount of it remained. The blood in Dev's body rushed to and from his heart at terrible pressure. Numbly, he knew he could suffer heart attack, the rupture of a blood vessel in his brain, death by overstrain, or even a plain and simple hernia. He knew all of the others were feeling the same. He also knew that he didn't dare let it matter. 

The angle changed yet again. It was coming closer to the mark. 

Rao-Rokyn,> sent the Kryptonian sextet. Their uniforms were stained by sweat. Superman V had developed a nosebleed, sending globules of red into the darkness. 

Even the stranger was showing the effort, not grinning anymore, but applying his grinding, mighty power against the shaft of indefinable matter or quasi-matter. Whoever he was, thought Dev, he had as much power as a son of Krypton or Daxam. Luckily for them all. 

Their strength would not hold forever, and they all knew it. 

What had to be done, had to be done now. Dev looked towards Supermen II, III, and the stranger. Up,> he sent. Now.> 

And the four men on his side bent their efforts upward, as the three on the other side forced downward. 

The cosmos seemed to creak. Everything in Dev's vision seemed tinged with red. 

The angle was still changing, steadily. A little more. A little more. 

A wordless scream of effort from Dev was manifested as static across the telepathic band. However many joined in that scream, he knew not. 

But Superman VI overrode it all, sending, Just a bit more...just a bit more...Rao... 

THERE!> 

The other six received the word, and wondered, dumbly, what it meant. 

Disengage!> hollered the Sixth Superman with his mind. The angle...is corrected. The Axis...is aligned.> 

It was done. 

Dev looked at the arc of the centrifuge to which he still clung, and calculated its angle twice. 

It was done. 

It was... 

Done. 

The six Kryptonians, weakly, loosed themselves one by one from the Cosmic Axis, and were sent flying. The seventh of the group followed suit, tired, exhausted, but still in possession of his faculties. He flew in a path that intersected those of several flying Supermen, and caught them, till there were four of them in a bundle. They hung tiredly in the void, the Axis churning away in a plane overhead. 

Dev, noting the stranger's effort, exerted his flight power and managed to latch onto the ankle of Superman II. The red-caped man swung Dev in a parabola with the force of their spin, but after a few turns they slowed. They looked at each other, tried to form thoughts, gave up, and kept looking at each other. 

Superman III managed to arc his body so as to curve him back towards the others, sighted the clump of three Supermen and the man in red and yellow, and whumped into them with some force. The other four were trying to shake themselves back to sanity. 

There were some attempts at sending, somewhere along the lines of, We did it,> or, Are we all here?>, or, Dad, did you make it? Did I make it?>. But they were too tired to do much conversing, even mentally. Two of the Supermen, for all intents and purposes, had fallen asleep. 

Dev sent two words. Kara,> he said. He sent it twice. 

The newcomer had no telepathic plug, and thus no way of conversing with the others. He marshalled his remaining strength, which he guessed was a bit more intact at the moment than his weary fellows, and tried something, which worked. 

He checked the elasticity of one of the Supermen's capes (it was Superman IV's), found it would do, and detatched it from the Superman's costume. Then he flew about the floating Kryptonians and pushed them towards a central point, making a mass of them. They felt themselves bumping against each other's bodies, but decided that nothing untoward was being done to them. 

Then the newcomer encircled them all with the cape, as if tying together a bundle of sticks, and knotted one end of the cape about the midpoint of the cape's body. Dev and the five Supermen were bunched together as if they were standing in a very crowded elevator. 

Their newfound friend took the other end of the cape and began to tow them. He was tired, almost spent, but wagered that he could reach the Rock of Eternity before long. There was atmosphere on the Rock that would permit communication, and he could introduce them to his aged mentor. 

By that time, they might even be awake enough for him to ask them about the Axis. But he decided that, all in all, it had been a good decision to follow his hunch and give the six strangers a hand. 

And if Zeus was around, he could ask him about it. He seemed to know about these things. 

Dawnstar, who had watched what he did carefully, decided that he meant her friends no harm, and followed, at what she reckoned a safe distance. 

The eight of them sped across the void. 

-S- 

Brainiac 5 came out of his Quicksleep slumber and shook himself awake. He was stripped down to his white shorts, lying in the folds of the deep-blue covered bed which hung suspended above the floor and molded its contours to his body's position. He spoke a command and it firmed back into flatness. Then he picked out a fresh purple uniform from his closet, got into it, put on his boots and force-field belt, and had the door whisk open. Once in the hall, he headed directly for the meeting room. 

"Computo," he said, on the way. 

"Functioning," responded Computo's voice from a wall speaker. 

"Current status of Daxam and Rokyn," said Brainy, steeling himself. 

"Report from Legion Cruiser Two indicates Daxam operation was successful," Computo reported. "No report yet from Rokyn rescue party. All contact channels monitored." 

"Thank you, off." Brainy sighed, even as he faced the opening meeting room door. At least one of their efforts had been rewarded. But two things remained. 

He looked and saw the entire complement of Legionnaires present seated about the meeting table, with John Constantine at one end and White Witch at the other, a pattern of some complexity drawn in blue chalk on its surface--which repulsed him. Their faces swung towards him as he entered. "Brainy," said Laurel. "My powers work now! And we've saved Daxam!" She was smiling, despite the tension of the moment. 

"Mr. Five, glad to have you back," said Constantine. "We've got a seat ready for you. Here's the rules: you hold hands with the bloke and shiela on either side of you, and you don't let go, or we're all dead. Got that?" 

Brainiac 5 said nothing. Condoning sorcery was one thing. But participating in it...this turned his stomach. 

Before anyone else could speak, Computo's tone rang out, signifying someone at the entrance, wishing admission. The viewscreen appeared, and the aspects of the persons at their doorstep were revealed. 

One was the man in the hat and dark clothing. Beside him was the white-haired, white-suited man with a cane. The Science Police didn't seem to notice them, for some reason. 

"Who in heck are they?" asked Ultra Boy. 

Supergirl, standing beside Colossal Boy, who still held the spear, looked at Constantine. "John, who are these people? Do you know them?" 

Constantine's jaw had dropped. Finally, he said, "Bloody hell. Yeah, I know one of 'em. Send 'em up." 

To be continued... 


	19. Chapter 21

hells21a Supergirl and the Legion of Super-Heroes: 

Hellsister: Part 21   
by DarkMark 

The old wizard wasn't too surprised by the fact that his protégé was coming back, looking very tired, dragging the six fellows he'd seen before all wrapped up in one of those garish red capes, with a beautiful winged Indian maiden in a scanty costume following. 

What did surprise him was that he seemed to recognize the costumes on five of them. 

He pulled a pair of spectacles from a pocket in his robe, shined them a bit on his sleeve, and peered through them out into warpspace at the party of eight that was coming nearer to the Rock of Eternity. 

"Holy Moley," he said. Then he sat down on a bench outside his house and waited for them to land. 

It didn't take long. Even pushing 54, the youngster was as speedy as he had ever been. Before long, his two yellow-booted feet thumped down on the flat surface of the Rock's crest. The cape was still clutched in his hand, and the other end of it was still wound about the six men he had been dragging, who thumped down like a bundle of lumber. The Indian girl fluttered her huge white wings and touched down daintily beside them. 

The red-costumed man let go of the cape and clumped tiredly over to the wizard. "Great one...I am...very tired...", he rasped. 

"I should say so," said the wizard, and propped him up with his arms. "Your uniform is all soaked with sweat. Seems to me you could use a day in Venus's bath chamber. Before that, though, I think you could use some sack time and foodstuffs." 

"Oh, aye," said the hero. "But see...to our...guests first." 

"Just you sit right down here," the old man said, and plunked him down on the bench, where he sat, wiping his face with his hands. The wizard walked over, bowed slightly to the woman, took hold of the cape where it was wrapped under itself around the six men, and unwrapped it. The sextet rolled free, like barrels whose stay has been taken away. They were breathing, but they were exhausted, and most of them didn't even seem conscious. 

And he did recognize their costumes. 

"Young lady," he said. "We have not been introduced, but I may know one of your friends." 

Dawnstar approached, warily. "Good life, father. My name is Dawnstar. I am a Legionnaire, and these are my friends. Five of them are Supermen." 

"Supermen?" The whitebeard's eyes crinkled in amusement. "Well, now, I knew a Superman. A good man, he was. It was...let me see...must have been almost a thousand years back by now, give or take a decade. Forgive me for not introducing myself. Around here they call me the Old Man." He laughed. 

"Is that funny?" asked Dawnstar, cocking her head. 

"Oh, yes, missy, it is. I'm very, very old for a man, but the others who live on this Rock make me look like a spring chicken indeed. My lad over there, he's taken the option of Aging. It took me a long while to decide to Age, and I didn't do it very well. That's why I've gotten this desk job, so to speak." He leaned forward conspiratorially. "I intend to be here for a long time." 

Dawnstar, not knowing what to make of him, replied, "Well, we don't. That is, we have to be off as soon as my friends are recovered. Can you help them, somehow?" 

"I'll have some of the staff look to their needs," he said. "If I know what their needs are. Young-fellow-my-son, what have you and these gentlemen been about?" 

"I helped them turn a great shaft in the warp," said the hero, somewhat recovered now but still tired. "They were at it a bit longer than I, which is why they sleep. But I helped. Their power is like unto my own." 

"I don't doubt it, if they were even able to get here," said the wizard. "It sounds as if you were fooling a bit with the Cosmic Axis. Now that's a terribly foolish thing to do, unless it needed doing. Did it?" He was looking at Dawnstar. 

She said, "Oh, yes, old one, it did indeed. A foul one called Black Adam--" 

"Him?" The old wizard's visage suddenly contorted. He changed from benign halfwit to threatening necromancer. "If that traitor now fouls this time, I'll have him--" 

"When last I saw him, he was our prisoner," said Dawnstar, interrupting. The wizard subsided, somewhat. "Black Adam had placed a small bit of Eternity Rock on the Axis's arm. It caused a fluctuation, and threatened to destroy a planet...the Supermen's homeworld, and the homeworld of this other. I was along as a guide. But we are not done yet, and when they recover, we needs must go home to our Earth." 

The sweaty superbeing on the bench looked up. "You are from another Earth, then. That's where you teleported from when I saw you at the political rally." 

"Then you are from Superman's Earth," mused the old man. "I remember when I first heard of it. There seemed to be a lot of Earths. So many they had to number them all. Except ours, as I recall. They gave us a letter. That seemed odd. Don't know that I much liked it." He sniffed. 

Dawnstar was headed towards exasperation. "I beg your pardon, old father, but we must return to my world as soon as possible. If you can, I would request sustenance and care for my friends. If it please you." 

The wizard lifted his well-veined hands and clapped. From the trees about his house, a host of small people emerged. Dawnstar was startled. They might be gnomes, elves, trolls, sprites, or a kind of generic smallbeing. Their skin was swarthy, they wore loincloths or toga-like garments and headbands, and had strangely-shaped ears and smiled a lot. 

"Get our guests to bed, and prepare a feast," said the old man. The little people rushed to the sleeping Supermen and Dev, four to a man, picking them up by their sides and hustling them into the wizard's home, which did not seem big enough to hold them all. But it evidently was. Dawnstar became wary. 

The wizard noticed that. "You can go in there with them, if you wish. We've victuals enough for us all. Captain, join us at the table. But freshen up a bit in my bathing area. You smell like a moose." 

The hero grinned. "With pleasure, my liege." He got up, appraised Dawnstar a few seconds, and then strode inside the house. She looked after him for a moment. 

"His costume looks familiar," she said. "But I've seen so many in the Crisis." 

The wizard stepped to her shoulder. "Well, now, there've been crises and crises. What crisis would this one be?" 

She looked at him appraisingly. "It became known as the Crisis on Infinite Earths. I might have seen him in it." 

He returned her gaze for several moments before he said, "No, not him. But you might have seen me. Perhaps he's familiar because his suit is like one I once wore. But that was a long time ago." 

Dawnstar parted her lips to ask the question, but he answered it first. 

"My protégé is known, thankfully for good reasons, as the current Captain Marvel." 

"Then--" she said, trying to remember. "You must be the old wizard, called Sha--" 

"Don't," he said, holding up a hand. "When you say it here, that word can get out of hand. No, I'm not that one you're thinking about. But I'm the latest in the line. It always runs like this...first mortal, then hero, then wizard. I'm not sure what comes next. But I do know what came before. You see--" 

And here he smiled a smile of bashful proudness. 

"--You see, before I was the Old Man, I became Captain Marvel. And before Captain Marvel, I was called William Batson."   
-S- 

"Stranger," said John Constantine, "you'll forgive me my bluntness, but we're in a rush here. What the hell are you doing here? And who's the homeless gent?" 

The Legionnaires were becoming uneasy. None could quite discern the eyes below the hatbrim of the dark-clothed man. The white-dressed old duffer with the cane was unsettling, as well, and smelly. 

Brainiac Five was curious, but somewhat hostile. "We don't have any more time for stunts, gentlemen. If we delay any longer, Mordru may do his merger while we're still in protocol." 

"What he said, " agreed Constantine. 

Supergirl, standing near Colossal Boy, wasn't so sure she didn't appreciate the delay. After all, the place they were sending her to...it was enough to daunt the soul of the hardiest Kryptonian. It was beyond death, for Rao's sake. And she wasn't that eager for a preview of the other side. 

She glanced at Gim's face. The clenched teeth and tensed muscles on his arms as he grasped the spear bespoke his own difficulties of spirit. But he was going through with it, and he didn't even have the power she did. Kara was ashamed of herself a bit, and straightened her shoulders. 

"Do I know him?" asked the white-haired man, speaking to the Stranger about Constantine. 

"There are two answers for that one, my friend," the Stranger said to the old man. "From your point of view, you did know him, though it was a long time ago. From his point of view, he does not know you, as you have not met before. Time travel makes these things difficult." 

"Yes. Difficult." The old man probed the floor with the tip of his cane, still content to have his arm grasped by the dark man. 

"Will somebody get this show on the road?" snapped Timber Wolf, angrily. "We can't keep sitting here while the Sorceror's Glee Club makes small talk. We've got a job to do." 

"Enough, Brin," said White Witch. "Gentlemen, I can sense power in you. Tell me how you are called, and why you have come." 

Supergirl recognized the man in the hat now. She'd only met him once, but if she wasn't wrong, he was possibly one of the strangest Justice Leaguers alive...or whatever. 

"Nark it, luv, he'll just tell you 'I'm a stranger,'" said Constantine. "He's--" 

"He's the Phantom Stranger," said Kara, butting in. "He's one of the Justice League of America in my time. We met during the Atom's wedding. I'm right, aren't I?" 

"You are, Supergirl, and it is good to see you once again," the Stranger replied. "We have come to participate in the crusade. As I aided you once, Constantine, so I will aid you again, as will my friend, who was once called Mr. E." 

The snowy-crested man livened a bit at that, bouncing the bottom of his cane off the floor. "Mr. E. Yes. That is what I have been called. This one is called Constantine. You say I have known him?" 

Constantine's nose wrinkled. "Cripes, I hope not." 

White Witch said, "Stranger, you have two persons here to vouch for you. Will you vouch for your Mister E, and control him? He seems rather unstable for our lot. And we need to get moving." 

The Phantom Stranger said, "Mr. E is but weary from his walk. He has walked here from the end of time, and perhaps a bit beyond. After this, he has but a thousand years to walk. But I knew his path would cross mine this day, and I knew you had need of mystics. And yes, he is a warrior among wizards. The hour grows late. Please make places for us at your table." 

Action Boy whispered to his son, "I don't like the looks of that guy, Dad." 

Captain Action whispered back, "Appearances aren't everything, Carl. But I don't either, to tell the truth." 

Mr. E turned, and gestured with his cane to Drang, who was still sitting within the chalk circle. "And what is this? Why do you harbor this entity?" 

"We're harborin' him till we get through with the sending, then we'll figure out what to do with him," said Constantine. "All right, Stranger, I've worked with you, so we'll deal you in, but this is positively the last interruption. The three mystics on tap right now are me, the lady with the white dress and the V-for-Victory on her forehead, and that one over there with the red-'n'-white mask. You want to position yourselves so we're all equidistant from each other. Sit down, an' let's go to it." 

There was some shifting from seat to seat, and grumbling. The Stranger urged Mr. E to sit between Shrinking Violet and Polar Boy, which did not endear him to either of them. "This is a seance, my friend, and you must not let go of their hands." 

E still held his cane between his knees. "A seance, yes. To strike at the Dark?" 

"We may hope so," said the Stranger, and left to take his place. 

Finally, almost all was done, and all were holding hands, save the two that would be connected to Constantine, and save Gim and Kara. Constantine snapped his fingers and gestured to the two of them. "Come up here, you lot. Right on the table." 

"On the table?" said Kara, with disbelief. 

"Yes, on the table. Can't send you nowhere if you're over there strap-hangin'. And I got some stuff to do once you're on it. Up, darlin'." 

Gingerly, Supergirl picked up Gim around the chest, being careful not to touch the Spear of Destiny, and flew them both onto the top of the meeting table. Constantine got up, knelt on the table top, and took out his blue chalk. 

"Um, John, what are you doing?" asked Kara. Gim was wide-eyed. 

"It's best you don't know, Kara," said White Witch. "Don't look too long at the symbols. Trust me." 

She drew in a breath and said, "We couldn't wait to hear from Dev, could we?" 

"You know better'n that, Kara," said Constantine. "Like it or not, it's boarding for departure time." He finished scrawling his symbols on the table top. He looked at her. "Scared?" 

"A little," she admitted. 

"That's good. It could keep you alert. Scary as hell over there, precisely. But where there's Hell, there's also Heaven, Kara. And just remember...neither one of you are going alone. Telly here will help us track you. How's about you, Colossus? You holdin' up?" 

"The Lord is my shepherd, Mr. Constantine," said Gim. 

"S'good, also. 'Yea, though I walk through the valley of death, I shall fear no evil, 'cause I'm the meanest sonofayouknowwhat in the valley.' Now, Gim. Now, Kara. There's not much else I can say to yer. You've got the biggest load in the whole journey. Without you doin' what we send you to do, everything we've done, you might as well hit the delete key on. Get me?" 

"I get you," she said, simply. 

"You get in there, you hit Mordru, and you get out. I know you don't like killin', point in your favor. But this one's just too big. So you'll do it, right?" 

"We'll do what we have to," said Colossal Boy. 

"You'd better. You won't get more than once." Constantine sat down, shot his cuffs, and sighed. Then he took the hands of the Legionnaires on either side of him, who were Cosmic Boy and Power Boy. 

"Uh, Mr. Constantine, one thing." 

John looked up, irritatedly. "What?" 

It was Laurel who had spoken. "I'm, like, Kryptonian. And we can't usually do magic. So, will I be a damper on things if I still sit in?" 

"You're not doin' the magic, darlin', I am. It'll go through you and around you, and you'll help add to it, magical or no. Maybe you'll be like a resistor, and build up the power. Do what I tell you, and we should be all right." Yeah, right, he told himself. "All right, Telly, do the mind-bind with her." 

Tellus looked at Supergirl, who was still holding Gim across the chest. She felt a bit of presence in her mind from Outside. Kara, can you hear me?>, Tellus sent. 

Yes, Tellus,> she replied. Coming in loud and clear.> 

Good. I'll try to stay out of the way and monitor you. If we need to communicate, I'll be the conduit.> 

You're very brave, Tellus,> she thought. 

Not as much as you and Gim, Kara.> Then, out loud he said, "It is done." 

Constantine said, "Awright. Everybody join hands." They did. He said, "I hope none of you has to go to the lavatory, because until we're done here, you've just lost your chance." 

Cosmic Boy wondered what the others would think, either Element Lad's or Dev's group, if they came in during the seance. Then again, there's a chance that some of the seance members might not be here when they arrived...if the six Kryptonians and Dawnstar were even still alive. 

Then Constantine started a low chant. 

It was picked up in counterpoint by White Witch. 

To this chant, Mr. E added his voice. It startled the others in the room. 

Sensor Girl knew little of what they were doing, but added her will. 

Phantom Stranger sat, and did not chant, but stared at Dev, Kara, and the Spear of Destiny. 

The runes John had drawn on the table around them began to glow. Some of the Legionnaires felt unwelcome sensations up and down their spines. But they were smart enough to keep their hands together. 

Afterward, they couldn't have told you if there was a sound, or a flash of light, or anything. There were several opinions as to what really happened. 

One second, Kara and Gim were there. The next, they weren't. That was the whole of it. 

A few moments after the two vanished, Tellus broke the silence. 

"They're in," he said. 

-S- 

Supergirl didn't even have time to complete a prayer to Rao before the bottom dropped out from under her and Gim. She grabbed him tightly about the chest as he fell. He yelped, "Ouch! Watch it!" and she eased up. He was still grasping the Spear of Destiny. She wasn't going to let him drop it. She didn't want to have to pick it up. 

But the darkness they fell through was different from warp-space. It was a kind of warp, to be sure, but not through distance or time...it was between the world of the living and the world of the dead. 

It was cold, and Kara wondered if Gim needed to breathe. After all, this space could not be designed with the comfort and needs of living people in mind. 

She looked him in the eye. He seemed to be breathing, but what he was pumping in and out of his lungs she couldn't say. It didn't seem to be hurting him. Perhaps the Spear was protecting him. Perhaps it was something else. Thankfully, the temperature didn't seem to be affecting him much. 

What the light-source was, she could not guess. All she knew was that she and Gim were able to see each other, and were falling like a plummet towards whatever their destination was. She tried, experimentally, to use her flight power. All she did was change their orientation by about 90 degrees, but they were still dropping. 

Well, that was to be expected. This sending-spell was expected to take them to the Netherworld, and she doubted even her powers would be proof against it. 

Gim, are you okay?> she sent. 

Colossal Boy, also wearing a telepathic plug, smiled. Sure, and it's good to hear from you. Uh, how long do you think it is till the lift hits bottom?> 

She shrugged. Don't know. Are you really that eager to find out?> 

I just want to get this thing over and get back,> said Gim. Or...ah, well, y'gotta admit one thing. If we don't get back, we won't have far to go.> 

Gallows humor. Yeah, we'll have curb service,> she sent. 

Kara?>, he asked, looking serious. 

What, Gim?> 

Wonder why we've been chosen?>, said Gim. 

She shook her head. I've no idea about that. I'm not even sure who's supposed to have chosen us. It might be Nabu, like Constantine said. It might be Rao, himself. It might be...I don't know. But...I've been thinking, Gim.> 

He made half a smile. Maybe it's because I'm the only Jew in the Legion?> 

Supergirl looked at him solemnly. Maybe. You never know, Gim. If that spear penetrated the body of Jesus...maybe one of His people has to be the one to wield it.> 

Gim looked nervous. I don't believe this. I mean, I believe Jesus was a prophet...but the Messiah? Am I going to have to believe that?> 

She said, It's between you and your God, Gim. I'm still chanting to Rao, in part of my mind.> 

Don't blame you,> he said. Kara, when you were adopted, did you have to go to church? Did your parents make you?> 

Sure did. I'm a good Presbyterian in lots of ways. They didn't make me, but I went with them. I didn't mind learning about Earth religion, learning about Jesus. I learned about your religion, on the side, and about Buddha, Muhammad, Confucius, all the rest...but what I really believe is what I was taught in Argo City. That comforts me, as it comforts Kal.> She was thoughtful for a second. It's surprising how much he remembered of it...and he only got three years of it, on Krypton. But he used his memory-prober machine to dredge up a lot of what he'd seen and heard as a kid, before Krypton exploded. When I came to Earth, there were some parts of the Scrolls he knew that I didn't. But there was a lot I knew that he didn't, either.> 

You know there are certain parts of the past we can't get to?> said Gim. The historians have tried, we've even tried, and we can't get there. The scientists call them "discontinuities". I think maybe we weren't meant to get there. And a couple of them are around Biblical times, as best we can reckon.> 

Yeah,> said Kara. Kal and I can't get to some times, either. Makes you wonder what caused them...or Who caused them...> 

She started. Gim,> she sent. I'm starting to notice something--> 

The darkness was beginning to become more defined. She tried using her super-vision on the vague shapes she saw, but couldn't get much more definition that way than she could with normal vision. It was what she perceived, not what she saw. 

Supergirl looked down. Gim,> she said. Lift your legs.> 

He had time to obey, sticking his legs out perpendicular to his upper body, by the time Kara's red-booted feet hit ground and her knee joints buckled a bit and then straightened, absorbing the shock for him. Gim put his feet on the ground as well. But she hung onto his chest for a bit longer, wary of losing him to a surprise attack from whatever quarter. 

They both drew in breaths, and were grateful they still could. Was their physicality made spirit in this realm? No way to tell, and it didn't seem relevant. 

They stood on a plain of great strangeness. There appeared to be land and vegetation of some sort, like a grass cover, below their feet, but the vegetation waned away in one direction and was replaced by a darker, spiner, more sinister growth of plant in one direction. Kara's and Gim's eyes were drawn that way, along a cleared path leading to a domain some distance to their left. 

They didn't really want to look there. But they had no choice. 

The city at the end of that path was circled by a wall of great complexity. Its surface looked harder than any substance she had ever seen, but sometimes...it seemed to shift. Perhaps even to writhe. There were shapes on its surface that flowed, and she wasn't certain she wanted to examine them very closely. 

Above the wall protruded the upper stories and spires of black, red, and whatever other colors she could perceive, in shapes that no human builder would have conceived. They were obviously not designed for human habitation. But many who had been humans, she guessed, had found their way there. 

There were screams, and she heard them. She was too nerved to even shudder. Holy Rao, did Auschwitz sound like this? There were even odors, and probably even tastes she could sense from this distance. 

Kara!> 

It was Gim. He put a hand in front of her eyes. Don't look too long at it. It's dangerous.> 

She sighed, and felt his muscle tension as well. You're telling me. Thanks, Gim. That--whatever--it's like a rattlesnake, mesmerizing its prey. Okay. Let's look in the other direction.> 

They kept their eyes shut, turned their heads to their right with more effort than either of them would have believed necessary, and finally opened their eyes again. 

They beheld the Silver City. 

Gim felt the terror ebbing, to be replaced by an awe he had never felt before, not even at the holy sites of his home town. There was no visible wall about the city. The vegetation about it appeared to be fresh green grass, wet with spring dew, and the buildings within its belt were of a majesty no human hand could have constructed. Not with the conditions present in the world of the Living. It was incredibly challenging, incomprehensibly intricate, yet all of a piece. His jaw slackened. There seemed to be more of it forming as he looked at it. 

And yet... 

...He did not seem to see any people in it, nor any living thing. He sensed presences. Perhaps, he thought wildly, they were beyond human sight. Perhaps he was not meant to see them, unless they wished to be seen. This place was holy. It might be a terrible holiness. He might be looking at something...or Someone...who did not want his form revealed. Gim shivered. 

To a mortal man, a mixture of sinfulness and virtue, Light can be as terrifying as Dark, in its own way. 

Gim, don't,> Kara said, and clapped her own hands across his eyes. The sight of that might overpower you, too.> 

He relaxed for a second, then turned around and faced the blonde girl. Thanks, Kara.> He let the spear go with one of his hands and chucked her under the chin. Well, guess we're really in No Man's Land. Uh, wonder when...> 

She was looking up, and he followed her gaze, not wanting to know if he shouldn't. 

Above them, there was blue sky to the right, reddish sky to the left, a pleasing light-violet combination in between. But directly above them, extending for miles in either direction, was a titanic circle of black and white. 

The circle was divided by an S-shaped boundary in the middle. One side was black, one side was white, and a dot of white was seen in the black and a similar dot of black in the white. The black and white sides swirled, alive-seeming, yet keeping their boundary. It was a strange force-dance. 

Yin and yang,> sent Kara. The concept personified. This is what Constantine was telling us about. I think I remember some of it from my dream.> 

They were awed by it, but not as terrified as they had been by the two cities. Nonetheless, Kara wasn't eager to fly up and touch it. 

Wonder when the main event's supposed to start?> Kara sent. I hope we haven't gotten here too late, Gim.> 

The last thing she saw before the power-bolt struck was Gim looking back at her to answer. 

-S- 

"What's going on?" said Constantine, his cigarette burnt to a nub in Computo's ash tray, his hands tight and sweaty on those of Cosmic Boy and Brainiac 5. His gaze was fixed on Tellus, who was parked at the opposite end of the table from him, his beefy fins clutched by Phantom Girl and Action Boy. 

"I--it is difficult to interpret," Tellus pronounced. "She saw...the black and white circle-device above...then a discharge of force, of some sort, and her viewpoint shifted, as if she were tumbling from a heavy impact. Now she seems to be getting up. She sees Gim." 

"What about the spear?" snapped Constantine. 

"I think it is still in his hand, or near it." Tellus's head seemed to turn in orientation to Supergirl's. "Now...she is scanning...she stops. There is a cancellation of color in front of her. Gaze shifts to Gim, for a second. He is getting up, groping for the spear. Her gaze shifts back, but she is shifting position, rushing towards Gim, and she wishes to shield him. She's looking up...the circle above...it seems more alive--" 

"Constantine, do you know what's going on?" asked Star Boy, the most skeptical of all the hoodooing they were doing. 

John swung his face towards the Legionnaire, and his expression of rage would have done a Marine drill instructor proud. "Shurrup! The girl's been hit. Something's coming at them. It's probably our boy. Keep those hands tight. What's going to start has already started." 

Mr. E, whose grip was iron on that of Shrinking Violet and Polar Boy, pronounced, "The Dark is roused. So is The Light. They see." 

Timber Wolf thought about asking how E knew that, being blind. But he thought better of it. 

For the first time since they began, they heard the voice of Drang. 

"He'll be coming for you," he said, and snickered. 

-S-   
Supergirl's breath came fast as she hurled herself in front of Gim. She had to be in time. She had to buy time for him to recover the Spear of Destiny. Damn it, they should have just taken a rope and tied it to his wrist. Maybe not, though, you never knew when you'd have to drop something like that, if what she had felt from it was any indication. 

She had time enough to notice the very large figure pushing in through a dimensional veil before she took another blast, right in the chest. For three seconds, she could not breathe. What started her breath again was the contact of her back with the spear. She screamed, and took in air, and lurched away from it, falling face-front on the ground. 

Behind her, she heard feet scrabbling, and looked behind her. Gim had grabbed the Spear again. He was holding it with the business end towards the point at which their opponent was coming through. 

The being stepped through the warp and they beheld his great height and the green of his pants and the purple of his tunic, and the white of his beard and the brilliant blueness of the metal helmet he had jammed on his head, and the dangerous, dangerous brightness of the many-faceted emerald he had embedded on the helmet over his forehead. 

They also saw, through the slits in the helmet, the fury in his eyes. 

Must I always deal with you?>, he sent, and the force of it was pain to Kara and Gim. Even here, must I always see a Legionnaire before me?> 

Kara, hurting in her chest, had pushed herself to a standing position and launched herself at Mordru with all her power. She had both fists out before her and was going full-power. With this kind of force, she might have pierced a planet. 

She smashed into Mordru's chest and hurled him backward. She could tell from the grunt of pain that she had hurt him. Not broken anything, perhaps, but it was a start. 

One great hand of Mordru's came up and wrapped itself tightly about her head. He began forcing energies outward from his palm. She screamed, in pain. But she did two other things at the same time: she blasted at his hand with heat-vision, and she bit him. 

Mordru was not, he found, immune to a certain level of pain. 

He shrieked, the sound echoing about the strange landscape and perhaps rebounding from the two cities. He swung his arm about and shook it, the palm open, like a man trying to shake a biting rat from his palm. Kara tried to hang on but she was still hurting from his magic attack. She went flying... 

...in the direction of the Evil City. 

Supergirl threw all of her effort into flight power. She had to right herself, had to get herself away from the terrible direction in which she was heading, had to get back there against Mordru, had to had to had to... 

Then a huge wall of red was in her path, like a backstop at a ballpark, and she hit hard enough to make Colossal Boy grunt in pain. 

Gim had grown to titanic size, and placed his hand behind her. 

"Thanks, Gim," she said, as she regained her footing. She noticed he had his other hand in front of his face, to shield him from the sight of the city behind them. The Spear of Destiny was stuck in his belt, no bigger than a toothpick against him. "Where's Mordru?" 

Gim pointed. "Over...there..." 

Looking in that direction, she noticed what had made Gim hesitate. 

It wasn't Mordru. 

-S- 

"Come on, Kara," murmured Laurel. "Come on, oh, Rao, come on." 

Tellus was forming words with an effort, as if each one were a concrete block he was heaving up with his tongue. "They have recovered...but...they see Mordru...but...the city...there are...things coming from it..." 

"What things?" rapped Constantine. "What city?" 

The atmosphere in the meeting room had somehow become darker and more dense, despite the lighting elements above. The Legionnaires and their guests almost heard a hum of power, somewhere just under the audible range of sound. Laurel had powered on just before the seance began, but even her super-hearing, and Ultra Boy's, were not enough to detect it fully. 

It might just have been an aural illusion. 

But neither of them believed that. 

"From the silvery city," said Tellus. "They are looking in that direction. There are...they appear globular, glowing, iridescent...cannot tell the number...AHH!" 

Tellus lurched and threw back his head as if someone had stuck a cattle prod in his spine. 

"Hold him, hold him, hold him!" yelled Constantine. "Don't break the contact!" 

Phantom Girl held Tellus's hand, which was tenser, but not painful yet, and wondered how long she could keep doing this. Action Boy held Tellus's other hand, and felt its power, and wondered whether his father, who had the strength power, wouldn't be a better choice to restrain the big amphibian. 

"Other direction," rasped Tellus. "She looked in the other direction. Emerging from the other city. Things." 

"Don't look any longer than you have to, Tellus," said Constantine. 

"Things." 

"I said, don't look." 

The Phantom Stranger said, "It is too late for that, Constantine. It was too late the second after you chose him." 

Constantine, for once, said nothing. 

Drang was openly laughing. "He'll have you all. He'll spit you on spikes of adamantine and make glory hands and corpse-charms of you. Ah, darkness, he'll have you all." 

"Go to hell!" yelled Polar Boy, half in fear and half in anger. 

Mr. E, not moving his head, spoke in strong and measured tones. "An unnecessary statement. For any present, possibly." He did not smile. 

Silence for a second. Then they heard the voice of Shrinking Violet. 

"Oh, God," she said. "God, I think I'm smelling smoke." 

-S- 

Supergirl and Gim, who was still giant-size, were standing back to back (though Kara was high off the ground, to touch his back), and wheeling about, beholding the spectacle before them. 

From the Silver City, presences had emerged. 

They appeared to be floating globes, as iridescent and many-hued as Tellus's description. At least, that was how Kara saw them. You see globes, too?> she sent. 

Yeah,> he said, nervously. Yeah, I see globes. Plenty of globes.> 

But in the other direction, towards the too-close city of evil, they saw something else coming up. 

Up. Or out. 

She saw shapes that were more amorphous, less defined, than the globe-beings, seeming to flow through the walls of that city, or up from the ground surrounding it. They were approaching, slogging over the ground in their direction. She didn't see anything that could serve for eyes, but she knew that the things were watching them. Somehow. 

Then, why the gate in the wall? she thought. If things can get through the wall, or the ground, why a barred portal? 

The gate seemed to open outward, more like an iris than a barred double-gate, and it disgorged other beings. It closed after them. 

There were things riding other things. Spiny things. They had some form of armor. And the armor was alive, and in pain. The riders were of vaguely human shape. At least, some of them were. They were riding, or being ridden, and they were coming towards them. 

Kara had her answer. 

Without even a sending, she grabbed as much of Gim as she could get her hands on, and lifted him up. 

The hordes below sent a sound up through vocal apparati that were not designed for human speech. 

The globes seemed to emanate a tinkling, but powerful hum. 

Kara and Gim were in the air, high enough to see down into the Evil City, if she had dared to, but she didn't much want to. Mordru stood not far distant from them, his hands akimbo, watching the spectacle. 

Get the spear ready,> she sent. Here we go.> 

Do it,> sent Gim, and reduced his size quickly so that the spear became something he could hold and point forward with both hands, which he did. His face was grim and his teeth were clenched, and the spearhead was pointed towards Mordru. 

Mordru seemed to sneer. 

He lifted his tunic, exposed a golden belt, and touched a control on a portion of it. 

A purplish aura surrounded him, visibly extending itself at least a foot in all directions from his body, if their perceptions of distance were reliable here. 

Supergirl comprehended it instantly. The belt. Brainy's force-field belt. That's why he stole it. 

It was too late to stop, even though Gim realized what was going on as well. 

They hit an immovable object, bounced off, struck the vegetation, and rolled, separately. 

Supergirl was down. Gim was down. The Spear of Destiny was down. 

None of the three were touching. 

-S- 

By the time Violet had the last word of her sentence out, the rest of them could smell the smoke, too. 

It hadn't gotten to the point at which flames would be visible. That would take only a few more seconds. Constantine looked at the brunette girl in green with wide eyes, a grim expression, and the knowledge that nothing could be done by him to save her. At all. 

The complement of heroes about the table were suddenly plunged into cold-washed realization. Before this, it had almost seemed like a game, a grim game, to be sure, but something they could possibly push off as almost a fantasy. After all, they were the Legion of Super-Heroes. They had faced the biggest, the toughest, the meanest the Universe could throw at them, and come through it all. 

Except sometimes some of them didn't come back. 

Those who had been present at the respective occasions remembered vividly the passings of Invisible Kid, Ferro Lad, Kid Psycho, Chemical King, Karate Kid, Wildfire. Those who had not remembered the tales. 

Now, they knew what they were facing was very, very real. 

"I'm burning," said Violet. "Oh, God, I'm burning up--" 

Brainiac 5, holding Constantine's hand, shot him a look of purest distilled venom and said his name. 

They heard the words, "Into me." 

Nineteen heroes, including Violet, suddenly swung their heads toward the speaker. 

The Phantom Stranger was holding on, very tightly, to the hands of Timber Wolf and Laurel Kent. They felt no heat conducted through his palms, and thought that very odd, but were grateful. 

But they could see his eyes, or what passed for them, at last. 

They were blazing. 

Burning with power. 

Some of them shot a quick look at Shrinking Violet. She was no longer speaking of burning. She was no longer smelling smoke, or feeling great heat. 

Constantine licked his lips. "Stranger--I--" 

The mystery man's lips were pulled back from his teeth in a grimace. "I can yet hold on," he said. "I can yet maintain. As long as I can, I will contain this power. If it must have one of us, let it be me." 

The Stranger quivered, holding in the onslaught with a great effort. But the time that it took to immolate Sargon and Zatara had been far exceeded. His non-human nature was enabling it. But for how long could even he contain such force? 

How long until the heroes saw, with their own eyes, what he had seen when the two wizards burned up? 

"John," said the White Witch, suddenly. "Link your will with mine. You too, E and Sensor. If you can repeat my chant, do so. If not, do not try." And she began to utter syllables. 

Drang had been laughing, but now, even he was curious and had shut up. 

Mr. E joined her chant, and Constantine, hesitating at first, finally threw in. 

Timber Wolf said, "John, if we get through this alive, you may not." 

Tellus spoke, without prompting. 

"Mordru's coming for them," he said. 

-S- 

Supergirl was hurt. She wanted the luxury of lying there and feeling hurt and having her body push that hurt away. She knew she didn't have that privelage. 

Gim,> she sent. Gim.> 

She raised herself from the ground a few inches, tasting blood which was dripping down her nose where she'd bunged it on Mordru's force-field. 

She was staring straight at an insectoid horror that was staring back at her with she didn't know how many eyes. 

Get away!> she shrieked, and blasted it with heat vision. The being retreated, but there were others beside it. 

A many-tentacled thing was slithering up, curiously. She smacked her hand against the ground, hard. A tremor made itself felt and the thing kept a decent distance. 

There were many, many more, presenting themselves in what looked like and probably was a line of battle. She swung her gaze away from them, wondering how long she could look at such things and not flash-fry her mind. 

Gim was trying to get up. He was sluggish. Mordru was nearing him, and he had his foot, protected by the force-field, pressing down on the Spear of Destiny. 

Get away from him!> snarled Supergirl, and rocketed forward. She knew enough about Mordru's defense now not to hit him straight-on, but smashed into him at an angle, spinning. She ricocheted away with minimal damage, and Mordru went back on his kiester, then fell flat on his back. 

A host of the globe-beings made way from him, parting as he crashed. They, too, had formed a battle line of sorts on the other side. 

She stung Gim back into wakefulness with a blast of heat on his hand. He had shrunk to 12-foot height. Mordru was off of the spear, but just barely. And he was reaching for it. 

He could not match her speed. 

Kara swooped down and grabbed the Spear of Destiny in her two hands. 

Her eyes were wide with pain and awe as she grasped it. 

But she did not let go. 

The force of cold fire and agony coursed up and down her slender frame, picking out each individual bone, nerve, and sinew, making her vibrate with pain as she flew, but it was not enough to make her scream, and not enough yet to make her let go. 

Colossal Boy was getting up off his ass. He was awakened, which was a very good thing, because she was getting rid of this hot potato right then. 

Take it,> she yelled, and tossed the spear to him. 

It arced through the air, and Mordru put out his hand for a catch at its midpoint. 

Kara hurtled upward and knocked his arm up, letting the shaft tumble by. 

Gim caught the spear in his right hand. For a second, he almost laughed, thinking about what a lousy catch he'd been on the kibbutz baseball team. 

Supergirl flew back in front of him, positioning herself between Gim and Mordru. She was still hurt. She was dripping sweat, and wasn't quite sure she hadn't voided herself while holding the spear. That didn't matter. She gave him a very cold and determined grimace. 

Come and get it,> she said, her arms crossed before her. 

She and Gim both looked at the beings surrounding them. They described a circle about the three of them, with their presences. A flash of recognition came to her: they were probably just below the yin-yang symbol in the sky, and the warriors from both sides were just outside its circumference. 

Wonder if they can get in here?> sent Gim. 

Mordru finally sent another message. Insects,> he said. 

His left hand was raised and a bolt of killing power was coming through it. 

-S- 

White Witch's head was thrown back and her eyes were almost blank and she was chanting nonstop and Dream Girl was very frightened, looking at her. "Mysa," she called. "Mysa!" 

"Nura, shut up," said Star Boy. "This is precision work." 

Captain Action held his son's hand very tightly and Carl Arno gave him a hand-squeeze that transmitted the love between them effectively. A lot of him was scared as hell, but a part of him was going, What a hell of a show. 

A very, very small portal was opening in the middle of the table, above the spot where Supergirl and Colossal Boy had stood. 

Mr. E chanted, in a powerful voice that belied his aged appearance. John Constantine chanted, with all the force he knew how to bear. Even Sensor Girl managed to lend her muffled voice to some parts of their incantation. 

The Phantom Stranger was still holding on, and burning inside. 

Then, suddenly, a line of fire streaked from him towards the portal and went through. 

With that, his body seemed to deflate, barely perceptibly. The fire-line went from his opened mouth to the warp-portal and stayed there, a tightrope of fearsome power. 

Brainiac 5 looked upon it with awe and comprehension. "They've channeled it," he said. "They took the power and fed it back through. It must be looping." 

Violet said, "I'm not burning anymore. I'm not burning. Stranger, what's happening to you?" 

Polar Boy, on the other side of Mr. E, said, "I don't think he can talk right now, Vi. And the others are kinda busy." 

Cosmic Boy, holding Constantine's left hand and looking at him in wonder, said, "You know, group, we might get through this one yet." 

Tellus was talking. "The Dark. The Light. They see them. They see us." 

Drang himself, at that, began to quake in fear. But nobody was paying attention to him.   
-S- 

This time, there was no getting Gim to safety. There was no time to knock them both flat. Kara did the only thing she could think of to do, automatically, which was to place her body between the bolt and Gim, and hope he could do something after she was dead. 

Something got between her and the bolt, at roughly the same time. 

A phalanx of glowing globes formed a wall and interposed themselves against Mordru's killing force. The beam coruscated off their surfaces, and Supergirl would have testified that she somehow heard them scream. 

The globes reared up and covered the two of them, like a living igloo, shielding them on all sides. She could hear Mordru swearing and directing more and more power against them. The glow of the globes that were taking the most force was dimming. Even against these, his power was indescribable. She sensed that he might yet cut a path through the circular beings and destroy them. 

But she seemed to see something else, through the gaps between the globes. A layer of another sort of being, or beings, ones more sharply defined and fearsome to look upon. Though she could scarcely believe it, the evil things were reinforcing the globe-beings with their own bodies. 

Gim was crouched, still holding the spear, and looking at her. Kara. How long will they last?> 

I don't know, Gim,> she admitted. So let me try something.> 

Supergirl had no idea what lurked beneath the sod they stood on. But anything was worth a try, at this point. 

She jumped up, jackknifed in the air, came down with her hands pointed at the ground, and began to spin. 

She corkscrewed herself into the ground, boring through it, coming up under Mordru, poking her hands up behind where her X-ray vision told her his heels were. 

Then she grabbed as much as she could of the force-field surrounding him, and dragged him into the ground. 

It took a bit of doing to drag an 18-foot-tall sorceror with his powers into the sod, but she managed it within a single second. Then she shoved in more dirt on top of him, compressed it, and baked it hard with her heat-vision. She stood beside the plot of dirt for a few seconds, drawing in breath, and began to wonder if this, finally, might work. 

After all, Mordru had always been beaten before when they entombed him in Earth. 

She turned her gaze to the igloo of good and evil beings surrounding Gim. She held back her nausea of looking at the outer layer of...things. It's all right,> sent Kara, not knowing whether they could hear her or not. Let my friend out. I think Mordru is done.> 

The creatures atop the igloo looked very, very battered by the power Mordru had exerted on them. She couldn't feel pity for them, but did not enjoy their hurt. Nothing seemed to be moving. 

Then the globes and things parted, in a large enough slit to let out Gim, who was holding the spear before him. Hi, Kara,> he said, and he was tiredly grinning. 

She sighed. Hi, Gim. They decided to let you out. Good.> 

He hefted the spear. It's this. They don't seem to want to come in contact with it. Maybe it's like Kryptonite to them. Or maybe something else.> 

Whatever,> said Supergirl. Maybe Mordru's out of the picture again.> She approached the beings, and noticed the ones which seemed most hurt. They seemed to be having more trouble following their fellows, who were exiting the area of the circle and rejoining their comrades on the fringes. She knelt and tried to touch one of the globes. It sped out of her reach, and reached the boundary. 

Gim and Kara looked at each other. Well, do you think they can get us back from here?>, she asked. 

As soon as she said it, Mordru erupted from the earth. 

-S- 

"He's back," said Tellus. "They...forced him...into the ground...but he's back." 

Phantom Girl, beside him, asked, "How could he do that? He's always lost his power when he was buried before. How did it happen, Tellus?" 

"Force field," gasped the big amphibian. "Keeps...the soil...at a sufficient...distance. They...can't hurt him...like that...now." 

More eyes looked at Brainiac 5 now than he was comfortable with. 

Constantine, E, White Witch, and Sensor Girl chanted in relays now, since the loop-link had already been established. The gleaming power-stream still stretched from the Phantom Stranger's open mouth to the hole in space. Timber Wolf, sitting beside him, wondered why he wasn't drooling all over his shirt like that. 

"Damnation," said Constantine. "We can't stick him. We can't bury him. What in bloody blue hell can we do with him?" 

"We can't do a thing, John," said Laurel Kent, with a touch of pride. "It's all up to Kara, and Gim. And Rao." 

"Oh, Raolly?" he said, allowing himself a slight smile. Then he caught the chant as it was coming around again. Couldn't afford to drop it, not by a sight. 

The Dark had to be aware of them all by now. 

And if they dropped the ball by so much as a syllable, you could bet the lot of them would be burnt sausages on a string. 

Tellus was giving them another war bulletin. "Mordru is looking at them, now. He's saying something." 

The door opened and Element Lad, looking very tousled, stepped through first. "What's going on?" he asked. 

"Siddown and shut up!" yelled Timber Wolf. "Can'tcha see we're busy?" 

-S- 

Mordru stood regarding Kara, Gim, and the host of beings gathered about them in a circle, and his hands clenched and unclenched. A last bit of dirt fell away from his force-field. 

Supergirl considered her attack options, and was on the point of hitting him with heat-vision, super-strength, super-speed, even super-breath, if she could suck in enough wind before she got there. Gim began to step forward, spear held before him. 

It is aware of me,> he said. I can delay no longer. I will deal with you after.> 

And with that, he lifted off from the ground and soared upward. 

Right towards the circle-symbol of Dark and Light. 

Supergirl cursed herself, and Gim said, "Oy gevalt." Stupid, stupid, stupid, she told herself. We forgot about his main objective. He's not here to fight us, he's here to merge with The Dark. 

The beings round about them weren't doing a thing about it. They were more terrified of the force that hung above them than they were of the Spear of Destiny. 

Now he was heading right up to the thing, and he was going to take a good old refreshing dip in an ocean of evil. Once inside, he was aiming to become chief executive officer of the whole enterprise. For all she knew of him, he might well get it. 

I'd like to take this pole and ram it right up his--you know,> snapped Colossal Boy, helplessly. 

She looked at him, and, an instant later, had Gim grabbed about the chest again and was hurtling upward at super-speed. At the highest speed she could muster. 

Luckily, Gim had the spear stuck out in the right direction, because there sure wasn't time to tell him what to do. 

-S- 

Element Lad, Blok, Magnetic Kid, Lightning Lad, Lightning Lass, Saturn Girl, Sun Boy, and Mon-El, who had just taken a Kryptonite-cuffed Ar-Ual to an inertron-walled recovery room, were standing near their hand-linked comrades, not daring to come too close to them. The seance members who were not chanting had quickly brought the others up to speed on the situation. Saturn Girl said, "John, this is killing Tellus. Let me take part of the load on myself." 

"Bugger that," said Constantine. "We're on a most delicate balance right now, missy. Tip it a hair one way or t'other, we're napalmed. Thanks, but stay in the bleachers." 

"What's going on, Tellus?" said Sun Boy, concernedly. "What are they doing?" 

"They are," Tellus rasped, spitting a bit of blood as he did so, "chasing...him...into the sky." 

Element Lad clenched his fists, and felt as powerless as he ever had during his term as leader. 

It was all in Kara's and Gim's hands. In the hands of two Legionnaires within reaching distance of Heaven, and Hell. 

-S- 

Mordru was picking up speed as he rose. He sensed their presence and accelerated. The damnable Legion...even this close to his objective, they dogged him. 

It mattered nothing. Within a second's time, two at the most, he would plunge into the mass of Darkness. 

Kara saw his trajectory. He was swooping far out into the dark area, and would contact it solidly, even though the circle was rotating and flowing. Once he was within it, they could bet that there would be no hopes of their survival. If they were lucky. 

She had no idea of what her speed was doing to Gim. He wasn't even sending. Luckily, he was still holding the spear in front of him, and wasn't about to let go. Not yet, anyway. 

There was still a chance. Mordru was almost close enough to make physical contact...insomuch as the thing was physical...with the dark area of the disk. His force-field still protected him from direct contact with the spear. 

But it didn't mean they couldn't nudge him with it. 

She reached the disk at a nanoinstant before Mordru. Using all her power, she changed their course so that they skimmed across the top of it, just above the surface. It was not solid. It was very, very deep...and aware. 

Gim felt its energies, and barely got off a thought to Kara. This is it,> he sent. Hear, O Israel--> 

Mordru reached out his hand. His fingertips brushed The Dark. 

Supergirl, Gim, and the spearhead hit him in the side and knocked him away. 

It did not penetrate him, but it was bending him double, nailing him against its tip. He wrapped his hands, gloved in the force-field, about its shaft, feeling some of its power even through his shield. He made ready to loose his power at the troublesome Legionnaire slimeworms. He lifted a hand, and it glowed. 

Then Kara halted, and pulled back. Mordru toppled off the point of the spear. 

His body arced, and fell towards the dark area, and then a little further. 

No!> sent Mordru. It was a small thing to say, a common thing to say, but it seemed to sum everything up. 

He fell, at the end of his arc, directly above the small dot of Light that alleviated the darkness. 

To his credit, Mordru did everything he knew how to keep out of its reach. He pointed his hands downward, released incredible energy in an attempt to thrust himself upward, and just felt the power sucked down and himself with it. 

He came in contact with The Light. 

Whether he saw a Presence within, or not, will not be known, at least on this side of the veil. For, whenever a being of his evil comes physically in contact with a force of purity that strong, there can be no resisting its power. 

In the end, the force-field might have been of some use in delaying the outcome for a fraction of a second. But only that. 

He exploded. 

-S-   
"Mordru is...he was..." said Tellus, in pain. "He is...she does not perceive him...no...there is a piece or two of him flying up...and it comes up and goes back down...a piece more...they are not...connected to each other...now, something is...hurled forth..." 

"What is it?" said Element Lad. "Say it, Tellus." 

"The helmet," Tellus rasped. "No...two helmets. One blue. One yellow. They...explode. Kara is shielding Gim...she screams. A bit has...hit her...in the back. It burns. She throws it away. It was...an emerald." 

White Witch, still chanting, knew what had happened. The Helms of Order and Chaos were destroyed. The Emerald would fall somewhere, but that wasn't their problem right now. 

"Kara is...faltering," he ground out. "She is...almost...spent." 

"No," said Mon-El, rushing forward. "Great Creator, no!" 

Rao, protect your daughter, beseeched Laurel. 

"They are falling," said Tellus. "Falling. No...wait...something has caught them. They are...caught." 

The heroes were whipsawed between hope and terror. "Caught by what?" asked Polar Boy. "Caught by what, Tellus?" 

"An arm," Tellus answered. 

-S- 

Supergirl had overtaxed herself. She could barely hang onto Gim. The worst part was, they were falling up. Towards the circle. Attracted by its power. No wonder the beings below didn't get into the circle's area, they were afraid of getting sucked up into it. 

Maybe she could head them towards the light area, she thought. Maybe, if they died there, it'd be better... 

She felt something grabbing her ankle. It felt like a hand. 

She tightened her grip around the silent Gim as much as she could. Something was tugging on her ankle. It was countering the pull of the yin-yang circle. 

It was strong enough to pull her back down, and it did. She wondered what being was responsible. She wondered if she dared look. 

But it pulled her down to safety, and held both her and Gim in massive, snowy arms. The arms were big enough to cradle them both. And the hands were gloved. The gloves were green. 

She looked up at their rescuer. He was wearing a green hood. 

This is the second time I have had to do this,> said The Spectre. I do not want to have to do it again. After this, stay out of our realm till your time comes.> 

She was almost too tired to be awed. Second time?> she sent. I've never even met you, that I know of.> 

I am called The Spectre,> he said, shrinking his mass to more human dimensions. Gim seemed unconscious. 

The Spectre,> repeated Kara. Kal's met you, but I never have. Thank you for your help. Is Gim all right?> 

He is merely unconscious,> the Grim Ghost said, depositing them both on the ground. You were unconscious when we met before. Superman has not told you of your passage. It is just as well.> 

Kara knelt on the ground beside Gim. She examined him with her X-ray vision, and was satisfied with The Spectre's diagnosis. She looked up at the ghost. Why didn't you help us?> she asked. 

The battle had to be won by yourselves,> he said. Or lost. Sometimes I am held back in these matters. But I was allowed to rescue you, once the battle was done.> 

Allowed?> asked Kara, sitting on the ground and looking up at him. By whom?> 

He didn't answer. 

What about Mordru?> she said. Where is the spear?> 

The Spectre paused before answering. Elsewhere,> he admitted. As for Mordru, he is bodily destroyed. His spirit is...> He gave a nod in the direction of the Evil City. Kara didn't look over there. There were screams from it, but none she discerned as Mordru's. Not that she was trying that hard. 

Why did you bother with us?> she asked. 

I would have been at your side from the beginning, had I been allowed,> said the ghost. But I am rarely permitted on your side of the veil anymore. A specific intercession was made on your behalf. I was granted power to save you, if you had triumphed. If you did not, you would still be among the honored dead.> 

Thank you,> she sighed, and ran both hands against the side of her face. I must look a sight. What specific intercession was it that was made for us?> 

The Spectre considered his answer again. Again, I am not certain,> he admitted. Sometimes it is because such is in the grand design. Sometimes, I believe it is only a small thing. Perhaps a prayer.> 

She looked around and noticed that the globe-beings and the things from the other city were gone from the field of battle. Can you get us out of here?> she asked. 

Most assuredly,> he said. Your allies are already casting a spell for your return. I will simply connect you with it.> He raised his green-gloved hand, and directed a beam of power towards her and the sleeping Gim. She felt the sensation of crossing over into the warp beginning, again. 

Suddenly, the Spectre looked up. She followed his gaze. 

Some presence was there. She couldn't quite make it out, and didn't really want to. But she did know what city it had come from, and didn't want to contemplate it too much. 

The Spectre was standing guard, but its power was far beyond his. Luckily, it had no interest in battle. It just sent one word: 

GO. 

They went. 

Kara and Gim were falling again. Falling into warpspace. A blessed sensation, after what she had just undergone. She wondered if she could estimate, from their earlier journey, how long it would take to return home. 

Somewhere nearby, she heard an explosion. (Heard? In warpspace?) 

She felt herself drawn laterally, into a cylindrical channel. She was not touching Gim, he was falling on without her, and all her powers didn't seem to be of much use against this thing. 

And she didn't think The Spectre had anything to do with it. 

-S- 

Back in the Legion's headquarters room, the assembled heroes saw Colossal Boy fall through a suddenly-enlarged warp, landing flat on his back, obscuring the mystic runes chalked on it. At the same time, the line of fiery power retracted itself from the Phantom Stranger's mouth, sped back up itself into the warp, and was done. 

The warp itself irised shut, and was there no more. 

Gim Allon opened his eyes. He looked around. He was the first one of all the assemblage to speak. 

"Hi, group," he said, wearily. "Guess we made it, after all." 

The standing Legionnaires surged forward, ready to grab Gim and welcome him back as never before. Before he could do much more than pull himself up to a sitting position, Constantine's voice rang out. 

"Don't break contact. We sent two out, we only got one back. We've got to get Kara." 

Laurel Kent bleated, "John! Gim! What's happened to her?" 

Gim, concerned, got off the table, stepping over the linked hands of Power Boy and Sensor Girl. "I don't know. She was with me, last I knew. Good Lord, where's she gone?" 

White Witch, Mr. E, and Sensor Girl weren't chanting anymore, and the Phantom Stranger was still recovering. Constantine said, "Tell us, Telly." 

Tellus groaned. "She is...passing through a circle...she hears a blast...and she is falling out on solid ground. Someone before her..." 

"Who?" said Constantine. "Dammit, who?" 

-S- 

Supergirl, bone-weary, fell out of whatever had been sucking her through its interior and tumbled into solid reality. Rocky ground, sand, a blue sky, ahhh, that was nice, that was very nice indeed. She lay on the ground and was very glad that there was ground to lay on. 

"Get up," said a familiar voice. 

Kara roused herself, looked up, saw the speaker not twelve feet away. 

"They took my baby," said Satan Girl, her face belying her rage. "And now, I'm going to take your life." 

To be continued... 


	20. Chapter 22

hells22a Hellsister: Part 22   
by DarkMark 

If it hadn't been for their exhaustion, Dev and the five Supermen wouldn't have spent even the short time they did on the Rock of Eternity before leaving. 

The men had awakened, one by one, naked, with scented and sudsy water being splashed over their tired bodies in an enormous, palatial bath. The crystal of the bath chamber itself, the golden fish in the walls whose mouths pumped forth hot and cold water, and the small mermaids who tended to them were all part of a picture that the six Kryptonians almost refused to believe. 

"What in Sheol is this?" asked Superman V. "Dev, don't any of you tell my wife about this, okay?" 

Dev got over his initial shock after a few seconds. The fish-tailed girl shampooing his hair was a pleasant diversion indeed. He leaned back and bent her head down to him for a kiss. She slapped water in his mouth and he spit it up. The others laughed. 

"Okay, darling, sorry. Don't tell whoever's ruling Atlantis these days about me, eh?" he said. 

"At-lan-tis?" said the girl. "Where is that?" 

"Ah, skip it, girl," he said, and settled back down. To the others, he said, "Tell me, boys: you think we're dead?" 

"I doubt it," said Superman III. "Once, when I fought The Survivors, I experienced death, and it wasn't anything like this. This is much more pleasant." 

Superman VI, sitting sullenly as the mermaids poured scented water over him, said, "This is pleasant, but an unnecessary distraction. We're on the Rock of Eternity. Hadn't any of the rest of you thought of using your super-vision to discover that? For all we knew, this could have been a deadly trap." 

A new voice said, "Don't spurn our hospitality, my friend." 

They looked in the direction the voice had come from. In an archway that led to a hall beyond, the man who had added his power to theirs in the Axis realignment stood, clad in a white belted robe and wearing shower sandals. He was smiling. "I've already had my bath. Miss Dawnstar has told me something of your purpose here, and of your identities. I am Captain Marvel. Welcome to the Rock of Eternity." 

"You look a bit different," said Superman II. "We've met before, when Dad introduced us. He met you in one of the Crises." 

Dev looked puzzled. "Hold on, Two. You mean, there was another Crisis? How did Earth survive it?" 

Jordan Kent said, "You're probably thinking of what they called the Crisis on Infinite Earths. There were lots of minor Crises before that one. Every time the Justice League and Justice Society got together on a trans-Earth case, they called it a Crisis. The one in which my father and this gentleman met was Crisis XIV, the first Earth-S Crisis." 

Captain Marvel doffed his robe and sandals and, naked, stepped into the bath. The mermaids did their number on him again. "I'm sorry, you have me confused with the first Captain. I'm the twelfth of the line. I understand there are fewer of us than of you, because most of my predecessors were allowed to age very slowly, or not at all, if they wished. Also, not all of my family took the mantle of the Marvels. Our lines have not met for centuries, and I bid you welcome." 

Dev thought about asking him if the Great Confrontation had been the last time in which the Marvels interacted with the Els. Then, glancing furtively at the others, he thought better of it. Best they not know of that. 

Aloud, he said, "Cap, maybe it's best not to speak too specifically of what's happened between their time and ours. The less they know of what's to come, the less they'll have to have brainblocked before they go home." 

Marvel got the hint. Good, thought Dev. Maybe his Wisdom of Solomon is kicking in after all. The Earth-S hero said, "An excellent idea, Dev-Em. I'm not certain if any of our lines have met. On behalf of the Marvel clan, I give you my right hand." He extended it, dripping water and suds, and sloshed over to Dev. The Kryptonian raised his own soapy mitt and shook his hand. The Captain had a strong grip. For a second, Dev thought of what Superman I's reaction would be, to see this handshake, and he smiled. 

The heir of Shazam said, "Once you finish with the bath, you'll be our guests in the hall of gods and heroes. I daresay, after you get a taste of ambrosia and nectar, you'll find it hard to go back to Earth cuisine. And you must be in need of sustenance after your labors." 

"This is all well and good, Cap'n," said Dev. "But we really don't have time for any more of this. I've got a girl to get back to on my Earth. If I'm not wrong, she's handling the most important part of the operation. So if you can get us our clothes and show us to Dawnstar, we'll be taking our leave. Not that we don't appreciate it, but I'm sure you understand." 

"Of course," said Captain Marvel. "Clothes and victuals, brothers." 

There was a clacking noise, as if from a horde of deer stepping over a concrete floor. The sextet of Kryptonians looked towards the archway. Seven satyrs, no more than four feet in height, goaten from the waist down and human from there up, save for the horns on their foreheads, stood on the edge of the bath, each of them bearing towels draped on one arm and holding a newly washed and pressed uniform for each of them. On top of each uniforms was a small sealed container of ambrosia and a sealed vial of nectar. 

"Our uniforms, and provisions for the journey," announced Captain Marvel. "I'm going with you." 

Superman IV said, "We're grateful for the aid, Marvel, but, really...this mission is overcrowded as it is." 

"You have Black Adam," Marvel replied. "I will guide him back to his proper era. And if he tries to escape--" The hero grinned a big grin. "--I've always wanted to test myself against him. Very well, gentlemen, let us dress and depart." 

Dev was out of the bath first of all of them, flying towards the satyr who held his clothes. 

He couldn't tell them or even himself why, but he had suddenly become very anxious about Kara. 

Just as he was taking the towel from the little goat-footed guy, Dawnstar stuck her head around the edge of the doorway. All the men yelped and started covering themselves with their hands or diving to the bottom of the tub, except for Captain Marvel, who stared at her as if entranced. 

"I've already had my bath," she said. "Now, if you gentlemen are finished with yours, we need to get going." 

-S- 

Kara was barely able to roll with the kick that contacted her face. It threw her backward, making her impact back-first on the rocky soil of the planet. It hurt like hell. 

Satan Girl was smashing a double-handed clenched-fist blow at the back of her head. She moved slightly and took it on her shoulder, but it brought a new wave of teeth-clenching pain into her body. Numbly, she wondered if she'd be able to use her right arm to best efficiency in the fight after that. 

She was tired, on the brink of exhaustion, emotionally wrung-out after the trip to the Netherworld and the fight with Mordru. Now, to be flung against a fresh, raging Satan Girl...it was simply too much. 

It was hard enough fighting her when she had been prepared and in good condition. How in the hell was she supposed to win against her now? 

The villainess pulled her up slightly and rammed a boot toe hard into her stomach. Supergirl gasped out breath, sucked it in, and, while Satan Girl was drawing back for another punch, reached out with her hands and clawed the hell out of her opponent's face. 

The bitch-beauty cried out and fell back for a second, blood from the scratches making trails down her face. Supergirl, running on instinct and guts, pulled herself up and smashed three punches into her Hellsister's gut, and then pinned her to the ground with her arms crossed over Satan Girl's throat. 

"What do you mean, you lost your baby?" gasped Kara. "Did you have a miscarriage? Remember, you were the one who wanted that fight." If she could get her talking, perhaps Kara could buy time for a recovery. 

"Miscarriage!" shrieked Satan Girl. "You pathetic lightling. I could bear children even if I were fighting to the death. They took my baby." 

"Who took your baby?" Kara bore down hard. Satan Girl was bucking. She couldn't hold her down. 

"I...don't...know," the Evil Woman said, and hurled Kara off her, into the sky. 

Good idea, thought Kara. She added her own velocity to the throw, and soared into the planet's stratosphere. Her super-hearing detected a roar of air-passage and a sonic boom. Satan Girl was coming after her. 

By the time she reached outer space, her Hellsister had caught her. 

Satan Girl grabbed Kara's left boot and, incredibly, sunk her teeth into it, trying to hamstring Kara. Soundlessly, Supergirl shrieked in pain and smashed her other foot down onto her foe's head five times in quick succession, dislodging her. 

With the unnamed world below them and the stars at their back, Kara faced off against her enemy. She was tired. She was hurt. In every way that mattered, she was not prepared for this battle. 

And she was fighting for her life. 

-S- 

"Satan Girl," said Tellus. "She...is fighting...Satan Girl." 

"Where?" rapped John Constantine. "Give us a place." 

Phantom Girl said, "John, stop it. Can't you see he's hurt? The strain is--" 

"Bugger the strain. We've got one lost bird out there, she needs our help, and this lug is the only contact we've got. Where is she?" 

"Don't..." Tellus was almost unconscious now. "...know." 

Constantine whipped his gaze to White Witch. "Mysa, give him an upper." 

"John, I can't," she said. In his condition, it could kill him." 

"Bloody hell! If you don't, she'll kill Supergirl. Cast the spell." 

"No." Saturn Girl stepped forward. "We won't kill Tellus just to please you. I will share the load." 

Lightning Lad looked at her. "Imra, be careful. Be very careful." 

She said nothing. Saturn Girl was one of the three original Legionnaires, and in many ways was the toughest. She came up behind Tellus, lay her hands upon his scaly shoulders, and prodded her mind gently into hers. 

Tellus,> she sent. This is Saturn Girl. Open to me. Let me share the burden. What was too much for one, may be just enough for two.> 

Ohhhhh,> he groaned. Forgive my...weakness...> 

You are not weak, only tired,> sent Imra. Another being might have died, or gone insane, under your load. Now, let me in.> 

He did, and Saturn Girl, too, looked through the eyes of Kara. 

-S- 

The dark and light half of Kara were smashing each other across the unfamiliar solar system they now occupied. 

They tumbled away from the gravitational pull of the planet they had landed on, and kept fighting in the void. They smashed at each other, kicked, chopped, and catfought, and each of their blows would have torn the side out of a mountain. Both of them worked at speeds which would have made them a blur to an observer, had there been any. 

There were few things as awesome as two Kryptonians at war. 

Kara knew, like it or not, that only one of them was going to leave this match alive. That thought gave Satan Girl the only pleasure she had left to her. 

The static that signified a scream resounded in their telepathic plugs again and again. It was the only thing they could hear across their battlefield. 

It would be quite a lonely place to die. 

Both raked the other with their heat-vision as they grappled. They couldn't use super-shouts to try and puncture each other's eardrums in airless space. That was the only one of their powers blocked to them. 

After getting kneed in the crotch once, Kara gave up her hesitancy and kicked her enemy back where it counted. She didn't like doing it, but she liked even less being the recipient of the tactic. Satan Girl groaned, rallied, closed, and sent a swift high toe-kick to the side of Kara's head. The heroine almost blacked out from its force. 

Satan Girl capitalized on the move, grabbed Kara's right arm, and twisted it sharply, trying to break it. The pain brought Supergirl back from unconsciousness. She whipped around, throwing Satan Girl into the void, and the distance she hurled her foe bought her some time. The deadly doppleganger was thrown a mile and a half away before she righted herself and came charging back like a rampant locomotive. Supergirl charged right back at her. The women veered a bit, corrected, decided to hell with trying to clothesline with an outstretched arm or leg, and simply smashed into each other with full force. 

The impact was greater than that of a comet striking a planet. 

Both women bounced off each other and hung in the void for a few seconds, reeling from the force of their collision. Kara was glad for the respite. She couldn't tell Satan Girl's condition precisely, but the villainess seemed to be as hurt as herself by it. 

What's the use of this, Satan Girl?>, sent Kara, her fatigue seeming to come through the telepathy. There's nothing left for you. If you kill me...what's left for you to make a life from?> 

The Evil Woman gave her a terrible glare. I'll work that out afterward. Stop resisting me and I'll get to it sooner.> 

Kara said, Tell me about your child. How is it you know he is gone?> 

Satan Girl hesitated. For once, Kara saw something other than hatred in her eyes. Even one such as her Hellsister could feel sorrow. 

A woman knows when she no longer carries a child,> she said. I know not who took it from me. I was liberated from the prison you had placed me in. The one who took me from it placed me in a coma before I could see his face. I awoke in a large tube, with a red-sun lamp above me and my arms' veins pierced with nutriment tubes. My child was gone...> 

Kara said nothing, waiting. 

...That was all I was wanted for. I tore the needles from my arms and opened the tube's hatch. There was no one in the chamber. I smashed the red-sun lamp. My costume had been laid out for me nearby. They were expecting me to do what I did, I now know. As soon as I was clothed, there was an explosion. I was transported from wherever I was to the world we both found ourselves on. Within a minute of my arrival, I saw you emerge from a glowing circle. That is all I know. But my child is still alive...I can sense that. I just do not know where he is.> 

You won't believe this, but I'm sorry,> said Kara. On my honor, I am. And if you will swear to stop this battle, I will help you search for your child. That is my promise.> 

She didn't think it would be wise to let her know of Mordru's fate. 

Satan Girl looked at her for a second, then threw back her head, opened her mouth wide, and sent forth the blips through her telepathic plug that signified laughter. 

Ohhhhh, don't you wish, Lightsister,> sneered the dark woman. I can find my child. After our war, I will find him. Or her. There is nothing left to us now, except the fight. You would not tolerate my existence, nor I yours. I am not capable of your empathy, of your petty virtue. You are not capable of my ruthlessness and power. Come, sister. Let us destroy each other.> 

And both of them leaped at each other, to do just that. 

-S- 

Saturn Girl was almost in a trance now, and Tellus was more relaxed. Brainiac had injected him with a spray-hypo of light stimulant that was geared to his non-human body, and he rested more easily. But the words the telepaths spoke were anything but restful ones. 

"The attempt at negotiation has failed," reported Saturn Girl. "They're back at it again." 

Brainiac 5 slammed his fists on the meeting table, making almost everyone jump. Laurel Kent, just as anguished, went over and placed a hand on his fist. Brainy looked at it a moment in wonder, then said to Saturn Girl, "Describe the planet for us. The star. How many moons on the planet, how many planets in the system, visible constellations, anything." 

Constantine, smoking a Silk Cut, was as focused as a general during an invasion. "Can't one of you two go off somewhere and maybe triangulate her position, or something?" 

White Witch said, "Telepathy doesn't work like that, John. Sorry." 

"So am I, darlin'." He grated his teeth. "Stranger, how're you feeling? Can you give us a hand here? And you, E?" 

The Phantom Stranger looked weary, and Constantine felt like scum for pushing him further. "I can try, John. But all I can think of to do now would be to add my powers to the mind-scrying. Without knowing where she is, I cannot gather her." 

"My friend has more power than I in these matters," said E. "I formed no bond with her before the sending. I cannot aid her yet." 

They all heard a rasping laugh from the corner of the room in which Drang was pent. 

"So the woman is to die after all," he said. "The sweetness of the thought almost recompenses for all else." 

The heroes were silent for a second, the disgust rising up in their minds like bile in their guts. But before any of them could give voice to their thoughts, one of them was in motion. 

Mr. E shoved his chair back and, moving unerringly for a blind man, walked over to the circle holding the crouching sorcerer-spirit. 

"Well, what have you to say, you blind bas--" began Drang. 

With one swift motion, Mr. E unscrewed the portion of his white cane that concealed the sword within. 

If one had been close enough to tell, one might have noticed that the sword was of silver, with a long cross carved on both sides of it, though they would not know how long it had been sunk in holy water, nor what words had been said above it. 

Mr. E's right foot scuffed part of the circle and allowed him entry. It opened him to attack by Drang. But in this case, Drang was in the greater danger. 

Even as the orange wizard-being tried to spring forward, the blind man drove his sword-cane deep into what served Drang as a chest. It could not pierce vital organs, of course, for Drang had none, in his form. 

What was important was that Drang's space was occupied by something that was totally antithetical to his being. The terror in his eyes for a fifth of a second indicated that he knew it, too. 

He almost had time for a scream before the flash of light that signified his discorporation. 

Drang the Destroyer, at long last, was destroyed. 

The Legionnaires, the Action duo, and the magicians around the table were awed. None of them had uttered a word during the entire action. Mr. E slipped the sword back within the cane housing, then turned and walked back towards his seat. 

Constantine broke the silence. "Thanks, E. Really startin' to get on my nerves, he was." 

-S- 

The war between the two Women of Steel went on. Without pity, without ceasing, it went on. 

Kara drew on her every erg of reserve power to keep fighting. But, increasingly, she found herself on the defensive. She fought to keep Satan Girl's fingers from her eyes, her jaws from her carotid artery, her knees from her crotch. She had hurt Satan Girl, too. It showed, in the bruises and blood on her face and in her motions, which were vicious but not as strong as they had been at the start of their fight. 

They tumbled across space, and neared another planet in the solar system which they now occupied. For an instant, out of the corner of her eye, she saw a landmark--an incredible, man-made landmark--on its surface. 

It had been an engine. Now, it had been covered over by cities, by dwelling places, even by (incredibly enough) soil and farmland, and neatly-plotted rivers and lakes. But, in its time, it had been an engine. 

An engine for moving a planet. 

She knew where she was. She also knew the existence of a warp nearby. If she could only get into it..perhaps there was a chance of turning this around. Even if it took her life to do it. 

Satan Girl was behind her now, scissoring her body cruelly, bending her arms behind her back, trying to force them up enough to break them. The low bass tone that the plug transmitted was the sure sign of a groan from the suffering blonde heroine. 

She might not be able to keep Satan Girl from killing her before she could get to the warp. 

-S- 

"She saw something on the planet," said Tellus. "It was important to her. An identifying feature of some nature." 

The Legionnaires and other heroes were gathered closely around the pair of telepaths. "What?" said Colossal Boy, eager for any news of his lost, lovely ally. "What kind of feature?" 

"Let me focus, Tellus," said Saturn Girl, her eyes closed and her slim white hands on his scaly temples. Imra Ardeen sent her probe deeper and deeper into his memory, scanning what he had picked up from Kara's sight. She was performing what would amount to a computer enhancement of a dim photograph. There was a chance she might distort the feature, but it was more likely that she could make the thing recognizable. 

Finally, she said, "An engine. The shape of an engine. It's a motile planet, or it was. The engine is covered over now. It's used for living space." 

Brainiac 5 said, "What color is the sun?" 

"Yellow," said Tellus. 

"Did she see any more planets?" 

"Difficult...to say," said Tellus. "Three, perhaps more. One with two moons, another with four." 

The green-skinned youth grabbed Element Lad by the shoulders. "Third Genesis. That's where she's at. Get on subwave and contact them. They've got a treaty with the U.P. They'll help us." 

Jan Arrah said to Lightning Lad, "Do it." Garth sprinted to the Computo interface make the contact. Then Element Lad turned to White Witch. "How can we get there in time?" 

Mysa shook her head, sadly. "I don't know. I can't warp that far, I'd have to do it in jumps. Also, there's no way I could transport a large number of us, or a cruiser. It'd have to be--" 

"A small squad, in suits," rapped Element Lad. He pointed to Mon-El, Ultra Boy, and Laurel in quick succession. "You. You're going. You, and you, you're going too. Get two suits." 

Laurel protested, "But, Jan, I don't need a suit for space. Even if I'm not powered." 

"The other suit is for Mysa. She's going along." 

A cold, firm hand touched Jan's shoulder and made him start. He looked into the eyes of the Phantom Stranger...or what he had that passed for eyes. "I shall add my powers to your sending, Legionnaire. They will boost the Witch's powers, and make the journey that much shorter." 

Element Lad clenched his teeth, swallowed. "Okay. Just so long as you know what you're doing." 

"I always know what I am doing," said the Stranger. 

Jan Arrah found he had nothing to say to that. 

-S- 

The fight was going badly for Kara. Satan Girl's greater energy and her hatred were giving her the advantage, and she was using it to fill Supergirl's lithe body with pain. 

After squeezing Kara's midsection till she was almost limp, Satan Girl next wound her steely thighs around her opponent's head and locked her ankles, grinding away at her with a head scissors. She held one of Kara's arms by the wrist, keeping it under control. Satan Girl reveled in the body contact and the sadistic pleasure that the wrestling gave her. She also savored the groans of pain she was forcing from Kara. Supergirl was trying to turn them about in space, trying to whip free, but even her flight power seemed feebler now. 

To Satan Girl, the experience was quite erotic. 

Grappling had one advantage that fist-fighting didn't: you were less likely to get hit, yourself. Also, with a fading opponent, one could keep the torture coming, and enjoy the victim's reactions. 

After a little more of the head scissors, Satan Girl let up and wound her legs about Kara's waist for a leverage base again. She grabbed both of Supergirl's legs to keep herself from being kicked in the face, bent one double and folded the other leg over it, and took firm hold of the foot that was facing her. 

Then Satan Girl began to twist the foot, forcefully and painfully. 

Kara screamed in pain. She twisted herself about in space, whirled them both around in a circle, but Satan Girl wouldn't give up her grip. And Kara couldn't reach her. 

By the time the villainess did let go, Supergirl was sure her ankle had been sprained. Or broken. 

Satan Girl unwound her legs from about Kara's waist. The weary girl was reaching for her ankle. She smashed her hard in the face, bringing more blood. The blips of laughter transmitted themselves wrathfully into Kara's telepathic plug. 

Supergirl forced the pain from enough of her mind to concentrate. Grimly, she admitted one thing to herself: she could not win this fight, physically. She was at the end of her tether. She had been tired enough after the battle with Mordru. Now she was past exhaustion. Satan Girl had come into the combat fresh, and with the knowledge of her lost child as a goad for her hate. 

I'll die without ever once having made love to Dev, she told herself, looking at the masked woman who was about to close on her again. 

Or maybe not... 

She kicked away with her one good leg and forced all her energy into flight power. Supergirl rocketed away from the space in which they had been battling. Her pulse was hammering at her temples. Her body was trying to warn her of over strain. Her consciousness overrode that, telling her that if she didn't get away, overstrain would be the least of her problems. 

Besides, she knew where she was going. And that gave her a slim modicum of hope. But there was a long ways to go before she got there...and Satan Girl might catch her before she did. 

For several seconds, the Evil Woman hung in the vacuum, smiling so ferociously it made the muscles at the corners of her mouth ache. She knew that Supergirl's life was in her hands, when she chose to take it. 

But there was no point in letting a pleasure be too short-lived. If cats were only concerned with a mouse's nutritive value, they wouldn't play with one before they killed it. 

She waited another three seconds, then went after Kara. 

She wasn't sure if she'd kill her when she caught up to her, or just break another part of her before the main event. 

-S- 

Tellus had another bulletin from the front. "Supergirl has broken away," he said. "She is...fleeing...but in a certain direction. Satan Girl is following." 

John Constantine said, "All right, Telly, which friggin' direction is she headed? Towards Miami Beach?" 

The amphibian hesitated before answering, as if he was studying intently what he saw through her eyes. 

"It appears to be a warp," said Tellus. 

-S- 

  
Kara was putting all she had into her flight speed, and it was going to get her to the warp in space. But not before Satan Girl caught up to her. She could sense that much. Her Hellsister was right behind her, and in grave need of finishing her off. 

So she turned around, and before Satan Girl could react, hauled off with a strong little right hand, and bashed her as hard as she could, right in the face. 

It hurt her hand. She thought she might have fractured something. Luckily, she hadn't. Thinking back on it, later, she guessed it must have been one of the best punches she had ever thrown in her life. 

Satan Girl rammed right into it, took it hard, took it full, got a busted nose and cheekbone out of the deal, along with a couple of loosened teeth, saw a flash of brilliant whiteness, and, for a second or two, lost consciousness. 

She caromed forcefully off of Kara's five knuckles and flew backward, into the void, her body flailing limply. Kara knew she wasn't dead. It would never be that easy. 

She wiped globules of blood away from her own nose with the back of her hand, wincing a bit. Then she turned again and flew full-tilt for the warp. The next part was going to be dangerous. 

She had to lure Satan Girl into the warp. She had to stay just far enough ahead of her that the villainess could trail her, leading her into the place where the final gambit would be played. 

She had visited this universe, not so many weeks before. This time she would not be protected by matter-conversion. This time, she and her Hellsister would be naked before its annihilistic effects. 

It would be time for one, or both of them, to die. 

And Kara full well knew the odds were with the latter choice. 

-S- 

Tellus said, "She's going into the warp." 

Saturn Girl echoed, "Great Lord, she's going into the warp. Nobody will be in time." 

"Why not?" asked Constantine. "What's so special about a warp?" 

Brainiac 5 wheeled on him, opened his mouth angrily, and then caught his temper. This man is a primitive, he told himself. It's not right to call him stupid. He took in breath, exhaled, and then said, "Beyond more than a very short distance, you cannot track someone in a warp. He could be a mile away, he could be 2000 light years away. Even with Tellus acting as guide, we could not direct our team to the proper location." 

Constantine snapped one of his cigarettes in two. "Get me the name of the idiot who designed that bloody transit system. I want to kick his friggin' ass!" 

When Timber Wolf put his head on the table and almost died laughing, John figured he'd said something really, really stupid. Again. 

Within a few seconds, everybody was laughing at his inadvertent joke, and they were very glad for the chance to laugh. So it didn't take long for Constantine to finally crack a smile, and then start chuckling. "All right, already...wotever, it wasn't that funny." 

But he didn't stop laughing. 

-S- 

Supergirl couldn't afford to think of the fatigue poisoning her body. She couldn't afford to think of how badly she needed rest and sleep, for Kryptonians tire like any other sort of humans when their labors are strenuous enough, and they need to sleep and dream like all sentient beings. She couldn't afford to think about what damage had already been done to her face and body in the fight thus far. 

All she could do is hang there, at the edge of the warp in space, that hole in reality where strange patterns in hardly perceptible shades of color formed, reformed, and vanished in patterns too quick for even a superbeing to follow. Within this warp, if one had a strong enough sense of direction, one could find his or her way to another part of this universe, or another universe. Or one could simply get lost for all time. That last was very easy. 

Supergirl used her telescopic vision on Satan Girl. She was coming around, stirring. Kara needed her awake. Thus, she stung her hand with a burst of heat vision. It did the trick. 

The warp wasn't far distant from where they had collided. Kara turned her telepathic plug up to full broadcast as she saw the masked woman shake her head, orienting herself in space. 

Over heeeere, honey,> sent Kara, as tauntingly as she could. She wished she could blow a raspberry or a Bronx cheer over a telepathic line. 

Satan Girl snarled how she was going to kill her and enumerated what things she was going to do to her in the process as she hurled herself forward. The telepathic plug couldn't keep up with her super-speed delivery and just encoded it into a packet, which it transmitted to Kara's plug in a "messages received" bin. By the time Satan Girl crossed into the warp, Kara had accumulated about five of these packets. 

The short recovery time had helped. Kara was able to match, and exceed, Satan Girl's speed inside the warp. It was important to stay within a mile of her foe, as there was no way she could be traced even with super-senses beyond that distance. But what distance a mile was, was very hard to estimate within the warp. 

The pings that signified another message packet arrived periodically, and Supergirl knew she was on the right track. Satan Girl was still behind her. 

Rao help Kara when she caught up. 

-S- 

Somewhat refreshed, the five Supermen, Dev, Dawnstar, and Captain Marvel XII soared away from the Rock of Eternity. The Old Man stood on his doorstep and watched them go, then went back inside. 

You say we won't need a warp to get back to our own Earth here?> asked Dev, telepathically. How can that be so?> 

Marvel, flying point, sent back, The Rock is a nexus among all times and places. If you reach it, in a sense, you are in the ultimate warp. My mentor has been to your Earth before, and has shown me the correct vector to reach it.> 

Superman IV turned to Dawnstar. Sorry you're not flying point for us this time, Dawny,> he said, somewhat uncomfortable with the familiarity of her nickname. 

She responded, Quite all right. This entire voyage has been of great benefit to me. The Eternity Rock--if I can learn to use it correctly, and can access a warp to this universe, it may be the best navigational tool I've ever dreamed of.> 

Well, that's one way of looking at it,> allowed the Kryptonian. And this has been an incredible adventure, even for us Els. We've met four other generations of ourselves, and the first Supergirl as well. And we've met your Legion, which most of us had only heard about from the stories my father told me...> He shook his head. You wouldn't think people like us could be awed. But we have been, and then some.> 

You all certainly awed me today, at the Axis,> said Dawnstar. Perhaps we will meet again.> 

Perhaps, but doubtful,> said the Superman. We're all pretty busy in our own times. Also, we don't know if Supergirl has been successful on her own mission yet.> 

Neither one had to tell the other that, if Kara and Gim failed, everything they did would become totally irrelevant. But they preferred to hope that the mission had succeeded. 

For a moment, Dawnstar wondered how they would know if the two Legionnaires had lost. Would she and her companions suddenly vanish from existence? Would they abruptly be sent to a Mordru-created version of Hell? Or would things continue as they were, but with changes that none of them were equipped to perceive or understand? 

She opted to wait until she learned of Supergirl's and Gim's mission before making any more horrific scenarios in her mind. 

Then she noticed something only an instant before the Kryptonians, with her tracker-senses. Look,> she sent, pointing ahead. It's Earth. Probably our own Earth. And we haven't been in flight even a third of the time it took us on the first trip.> 

Superman IV and Dawny gazed at the cloud-mantled bluish globe, not too far beyond them in terms of their capabilities. 

It must be that a voyage from the Eternity Rock is much smaller than one to the Eternity Rock,> guessed the Legionnaire. 

That, or Marvel just took a short cut,> opined the Superman. 

And both hoped they'd hear good news when they got there. 

-S- 

There had only been one brief punch-up between Kara and Satan Girl during their time in the warp thus far. Thankfully, Supergirl was able to break away again and get to the very exit-nexus she wanted. Superman had taken her to it one day in the past, after a case he had with the Justice League and Justice Society. The Green Lanterns of two Earths had led a foe of theirs into it, and managed to escape destruction when their enemy died. 

She prayed for as much luck as they had. 

Kara stopped at the warp-gate and looked behind her. Satan Girl had stopped as well, less than a mile behind her. To her credit, she wasn't stupid. She knew that Supergirl was leading her on. And, having Kara's memories, she knew where she was headed. 

That is the anti-matter universe,> sent Satan Girl. 

Oh, very good,> mocked Kara, smiling like a teacher tutoring her most backward pupil. Now, if you'll just join me here, I can finish you right off.> 

The villainess didn't budge. It'll blow us both to bits if we touch any substance there without force-shields or matter-conversion,> she sent. I can just wait you out. You'll come back, or you'll be atomized. Either way, I win.> 

Oh, will you?>, asked Kara. I thought for certain that you wanted to tear me apart with your own hands. Except it hasn't been that easy, has it? Maybe you're just not up to it, after all...since you're just a pretty pathetic copy of me.> 

Satan Girl's expression of hatred, which was about the only one she owned, intensified. YOU...> she began, and that was all she could get out. 

Just one more thing, darling,> sent Kara. I didn't want to have to tell you this, but we killed Mordru. He's dead. Hope you didn't get attached to him too much.> 

At that, Supergirl knew she had succeeded. Probably a little more than she wanted. 

Satan Girl surged forward like an express train, her arms outstretched, and Kara flew through the warp. 

In two more seconds, they were at war again, and Satan Girl vowed that she would destroy Supergirl before the anti-matter got anywhere near them. 

-S- 

Dev-Em's party touched down outside Legion HQ, where Dawnstar vouched for all the newcomers with the Science Police guards outside. The eight of them flew inside to the meeting room. They walked in just as Saturn Girl was saying, "Qward. They're in the Qward system in Anti-Universe One." 

The scene before them was tense, to say the least. Saturn Girl was standing behind a seated Tellus with her hands on the amphibian's shoulders, both of them looking almost entranced. The other Legionnaires, heroes, and newcomers, the last of which included a strange, dark-suited man and a blind man in worn white clothes, were gathered around the two telepaths. Dawnstar picked out Colossal Boy in the crowd, saw that the other Legion contingent had arrived, and was relieved. Some of the Legionnaires in the room noted the presence of Captain Marvel, but none of them had time to make introductions right now. 

"Gim," said Dawny, running towards him in joy and throwing her arms around him. "You made it back! What happened? Where's Supergirl?" 

"Mordru's dead," he said. "Daxam's safe. And Kara's fighting that bitch Satan Girl in an anti-matter universe. We're going to send out a party, but we won't be able to get there in time...six warp-jumps'll take too long." He closed his eyes, covering them with his hand. "Dammit, Dawny, she's going to die!" 

From his tone of voice, Dawnstar could tell he was close to tears. Then she heard a riot of voices from the Supermen behind her, overridden by one shriek from Dev: "No!" 

Element Lad, grim-faced, said, "You succeeded?" 

"Yes, but--" began Dawnstar. 

"That's good," he said. "I'm sending Mysa, Mon, Jo, and Laurel out there after Kara. The Krypts can come too, if they want. But they'll all need force-field generators from the supply room to survive out there. At any rate, it'll take them...too long." He sighed. "But we're going to send them, anyway." 

Dawnstar caught a glimpse of Dream Girl, sitting at the meeting table. Her eyes were closed, and her head was thrown back, and Star Boy was sitting beside her, holding her hand. Nura was having a prophetic vision again. Dawny didn't want to know what she prophesied. 

She turned back to Element Lad and said, "We may be able to make it in time." 

"What?" he said. "What are you talking about?" 

"Six jumps would take too long," she said. "We'll go back the way we came. I will guide them." 

Dawnstar went over to the Supermen, who were standing fast by Dev-Em, who was pumping the Legionnaires for details of Kara's fight. Dream Girl shook her head and came back to the present. "Ah, Creator," she breathed. "Thom, call Mon over here. Quickly." 

"Okay," said Star Boy, and motioned the Daxamite to their side. He looked as anguished as anybody, for he, too, loved Supergirl. 

"What is it?" said Mon-El. 

"Mon, listen, and don't tell anyone else about this," confided Dream Girl in a whisper. "I want you to go down to storage, and get a backpack and a suit, right now." 

"What for?" he said. "I don't need any space suit." 

"Not that kind of suit, you big ninny. Listen." 

-S- 

The star-system of Qward had twin suns for the last thousand years. The new one was rather small, as stars go, but a star is a star, for all that. 

Supergirl and Satan Girl were headed towards the younger star, though either of them would do for Kara's purpose. Every now and then she felt stings, which she guessed were from the impact of random anti-hydrogen atoms in space. Nothing which would do real damage, and she was grateful for that. Her super-vision raked the void to make sure she avoided anything of real substance. Even a fragment of meteor the size of a teardrop would go off like a hydrogen bomb if she contacted it. 

The Anti-Monitor's fortress of once-living stone was now dead, and hung in the heavens above Qward. They had bypassed it some minutes ago. She didn't feel like sightseeing in the place in which she had almost died, anyway. Maybe it would be ironic to have the Anti-Monitor's universe do to her what he himself could not. But such ironies weren't to her taste, right now. 

A collision with even a man-sized chunk of anti-matter might not destroy a Kryptonian. Superman himself had once set off an anti-matter bomb of such dimensions, sent by a foe called Black Zero. He had survived the explosion, though he had narrowly escaped injury. A planet-sized mass undoubtedly would do the job, if a Kryptonian set foot on it without shields. But there were living people on Qward, and she had no right to doom them. 

They had come close to the young star of Qward. Blindingly close, for anyone without the invulnerable eyes of a spawn of Krypton. Kara flew closer still, wondering how long she could go before having to pull up, before angling away from that detonating nuclear-fusion anti-plasma. 

A strong grip on her injured ankle settled the question for her. 

Ohhhh, Rao, thank you,> rasped Satan Girl. Supergirl cried out mentally in pain and tried to kick her with her free foot. Satan Girl scrambled up her body and entwined her legs with Kara's,.providing support for herself. A shudder of fear went through Kara as she looked on Satan Girl's wrecked face. The battle had taken its toll on the Evil Woman, as it had on Supergirl herself. But neither had been finished yet. 

Before the shudder ended, Kara was already taking a hail of blows from Satan Girl. 

She warded off as many as she could with her arms, which were aching from the impacts. But many punches did get through, landing on her face, throat, chest, and stomach. Their entwined legs prevented kicking or kneeing at the moment. Kara desperately tried to go on the offensive, raising her tired arms, landing as many blows as she could to Satan Girl's face and body. 

It wasn't enough. 

Satan Girl gave Kara superficial burns with heat-vision, tore at her hair, raked her eyes with her claws, even bit her in the neck. Supergirl managed to tear her throat away from Satan Girl's jaws again, but was uncertain how much longer she could hold out. 

And she knew that, given the body damage that she had sustained, the fight was bringing her very close to death. 

She had been using her flight power to plummet them both down towards the antisun's surface. They were enough into the "atmosphere" of the sun that both were taking hits from random anti-matter particles. Not large enough to damage them, but it felt like beestings. Both of them could survive contact with, or even immersion in, a positive-matter sun. Kal had done it before, though she had not yet tried it. 

But physical contact with a body of antimatter that large would annihilate them both. Or just one of them, if Kara was lucky enough to escape. 

The second bit was beginning to look less and less of a viable option. 

Satan Girl's judgment finally overrode her wrath. She looked down at the great orb, only a short span of space below them, and used her flight power to resist Kara's. It took several seconds, with Kara's body pulling and tugging at her own, but she finally halted them both with a great effort. 

You thought you could kill us both in the star,> she snarled. Not me. Not me, Kara.> 

And with that, she cracked a blow to Kara's face that broke her nose. 

The static-shriek of pain in the telepathic plug was a sonata to Satan Girl. Smiling for the first time in minutes, she followed with another wallop, and another, and another. Four unanswered blows. Kara tried to resist, but her defense was fading. 

Satan Girl pounded her. Over and over again. 

And as she did it, she was sending to her. 

Do you know what I'm going to do after I kill you, Kara? Do you know? Well, listen. I'm going to find my child. I'm going to raise him to be what neither Mordru nor I could be alone. A sorcerer with the genes and power of the greatest necromancer in the universe, plus the body and powers of a Kryptonian. He will be a scourge such as Mordru never dreamed of. And I will rule through him, and he will rule because of me. We will conquer as none have ever conquered. But it may take a little while to find him. So I'm going to do something first, just to get the kinks out. I'm going to find me a planet, one with people on it, lots and lots of people. And I'm going to kill them all. Then I'm going to another planet, and kill just, maybe, half of them. And I'll make the ones who live worship me. By the time I find my child, he may be the object of a new religion. Wouldn't that be nice, Kara? 

Kara?> 

Satan Girl hesitated. She had been laying into Supergirl like a butcher on a steer. But she had been so busy in her fantasy that she had taken no notice of what she had really done. 

Supergirl was not moving. 

Satan Girl smashed her a few more times, just to make sure. Then she listened for a heartbeat. 

Nothing. 

Blood poured in globules from the wounds on both women. Satan Girl was wary of a trick. For a full two minutes, she listened to Supergirl's heart. 

Nothing. 

It could still be a trick. But she couldn't stay there forever. A random impact with anti-matter could make her just as dead as Kara. 

Below them, Satan Girl saw a solar prominence reaching up. One of those sun-storms sent plasma millions of miles above the star's surface, and its mass dwarfed that of Earth many times over. 

That would be the most convenient thing, she decided. She loosened her legs, unwrapped them from Kara's limp, drifting body, and took her foe in both hands. With what spit she had left, she sent globules of saliva at Kara's face. 

Murdering bitch,> she sneered. 

Then she lifted her overhead and threw her with all her force. 

In the middle of that throw, she heard something that froze the thoughts in her very brain. 

Kara had started her heartbeat again. 

Supergirl grabbed Satan Girl by the legs, added her own momentum to the force of Satan Girl's super-throw, whirled them around several times like two partners on a trapeze bar, and flung her enemy down towards the thrusting fingers of the solar prominence. 

The worst part of it was seeing the grin of determination on Kara's bloodied face as she threw her. 

Satan Girl heard one last sending before she hit the plasma. 

Hellsister,> said Supergirl, go to Hell.> 

Kara pulled up, flying away at an angle, keeping herself beyond the event horizon of what was to come with the last shred of power she had. But she knew that she had to avoid the blast area. She trained her super-vision on the hurtling woman in black, even as she flew away. 

The villainess hit the anti-plasma. 

There was a look of confusion on Satan Girl's face as she exploded. 

Her positive-matter structure was instantly annihilated by an equivalent mass of anti-matter in the solar prominence. It flattened part of the plasma-storm a bit, made for a more spectacular sight, and disintegrated a small bit of antisolar matter. 

But that was all right. There was enough antimatter in the star to spare. 

It didn't take that much of it to kill a Satan Girl. 

-S- 

On the Rock of Eternity, the Old Man peered through one of his windows again and perceived approaching figures. Well, now, he thought, back again after so short a time? Perhaps they've come to stay longer. And from the looks of their number, they'd brought a few new guests. That was considerate of them. Why, he'd have them gladhanding with Zeus and Mercury, have Venus do her fan-dance for them--she was a shameless hussy, but he enjoyed it as much as any of the rest--and have them sit a spell and get the lowdown from them on what was happening on their Earth, in their time. After all, it was hard to get company up here, except for wandering godlings and such. 

The whole mass of them came up to the Rock's event horizon, angled off, and headed elsewhere. 

William Batson sniffed. Well. He'd have to talk with that young one, once he got back. You should never neglect your parents of the 12th generation, even if they didn't wear a red suit with a thunderbolt on it any more. 

His eyes crinkled in a smile. He knew what he'd do. The next time Young Billy said the word, he'd just sidle up to Zeus and say, "Let him stew a while before you throw it." 

That's serve him right. 

-S- 

"She...used her telescopic vision," breathed Tellus. "Satan Girl...was destroyed." 

John Constantine pumped his fist in the air. Colossal Boy wiped sweat off his brow. There was some brief rejoicing among the Legionnaires still in the meeting room. Lightning Lad said, "Way to go, Kara!", and hurled a small bolt between his outstretched hands in celebration. 

"So where is she now?" asked Element Lad, not daring to get optimistic yet. 

"I..." Tellus strained, and Saturn Girl dug her hands into his shoulder muscles to untense them as best she could. 

She answered, "She doesn't seem to be seeing anything, Jan. I'm not getting any conscious input from her. Confirmed, Tellus?" 

"Yes," the big Legionnaire said. Blok, the biggest of them all, hovered nearby, feeling some empathy for Tellus. 

"Unconscious, but not dead, right?" pressed Element Lad. "Otherwise there's be no contact, right?" 

Saturn Girl said, simply, "Right, Jan. On both counts. There's still some hope." 

Nobody in the room liked the word "some" very much. 

-S- 

Supergirl had been lucky. Incredibly, unbelievably lucky. She had missed contact with the exploding plasma of the anti-sun, save for a few stray molecules or atoms which were barely felt by her. 

Now, she hung drifting in the space of the anti-matter universe, dormant. The exhaustion and punishment of the two great battles had taken their toll. Kara had passed out while flying away from the sun. 

It was a boon to her body's defense systems. They slowed her life processes down, began the repair work that would be necessary, if she was to survive. But there was much work to be done. Kara had suffered external and internal injuries. Traumas, abrasions, burns, broken bones, even possibly a small concussion. She was bruised and she was bleeding. 

If she were a normal woman, in normal circumstances, she might have been rushed to an emergency medical unit and worked over by a team of doctors, med-techs, and nurses, treated, prepped for surgery, operated upon, and given time for a monitored recovery in a comfortable bed. 

But she was not a normal woman, and these were not normal circumstances. Her slim form described a slow ballet of body- and limb-drift, propelled by reaction to long-ago movements and perhaps by the gravity of the antistar below her. 

So it was very possible she could still die. 

There was a sending in the void. 

kara kara kara> 

A pause. 

kara is that you? I thought I heard you> 

Another pause. The Girl of Steel could not hear the voice in her telepathic plug. 

I felt something after I heard you kara. Please respond. It's been so long out here kara. Please respond.> 

There was no response. 

After a few more tries, the sender gave up, and waited. 

He vaguely imaged flying people heading their way. 

-S- 

Mon-El was carrying Mysa Nal, the White Witch. The rest of the party included the Supermen, Dev, Ultra Boy, Dawnstar, Laurel Kent, and Captain Marvel XII. All of them were ringed with the nimbuses of force-fields that would guard them against the contramatter of the anti-universe. 

Captain Marvel had to fly point this time, to get them into the anti-matter 'verse. It took some doing, even with the help of the Eternity Rock's nexus properties. But within minutes leaving it, they were within their destination's deadly boundaries. And they were within flying distance of the twin suns of Qward. 

Start looking, boys,> ordered Dev-Em. The Kryptonians, Mon-El, and Ultra Boy began focusing their telescopic and x-ray visions, with the addition of a filter that kept them from going blind in the incredible glare. Captain Marvel had no vision powers, and, for that reason, he finally had to hang back. Mon-El left White Witch and Dawnstar in Marvel's keeping. He sped on with the rest, still carrying his bulky backpack. The others hadn't been able to get him to tell them what was in it. 

It was Ultra Boy who, using his penetra-vision, found her first. Over there,> he pointed. 

Even though there was a lot of "over there" to be covered, the searchers followed his line of sight unerringly. A woman's body floated in space. 

All of them tried to be the first to reach her. But it was only proper that Dev-Em managed to beat the others there. By the time Mon, Laurel, Jo, and the five Supermen reached Kara, Dev was cradling her in his arms, laying his head to her chest to check for a heartbeat, and sobbing. 

She's dying,> Superman VI said, breaking the silence. 

Let's get her to Daxam,> sent Mon-El, putting a hand on Dev's shoulder and getting it shrugged off. His homeworld had perfected medical techniques that were cutting-edge for almost all of civilization. 

Rao, is this how you serve the woman that saved your universe?>, Dev-Em cried, and would not be comforted. His hearing had gauged Kara's life-signs accurately. 

They were still there, but fading. 

There was another sending. It was from Captain Marvel. 

Bring her to me,> he said. There's something I want to try. It could save her.> 

Dev-Em said, She's not leaving my hands.> 

Then follow me,> said Marvel. If we get her back to the Rock, she might still have a chance.> 

Superman II said, Let me help you, Dev.> 

No,> said Dev. I'll take her. Don't touch her. Let's go.> 

Then he turned, and poured all his powerful energies into flight and speed. The others followed him at the same velocity. They intercepted Marvel and his party. Two of the Supermen took Mysa and Dawny in their arms and hurtled onward with the rest. Captain Marvel flew point, leading them away from the realm of malignant matter. 

Mon-El hung back, as he had a thing to do before leaving, and had been asked to do it so that none of the others would see. 

From his backpack, he took a particular kind of suit, and gave it a quick and powerful shove towards the antisun below. 

Then he turned and caught up to the rest of the party, and was more concerned with saving Kara than with what might be transpiring behind him. 

-S- 

The Legionnaires back at home base were comparing notes about their missions. Brainiac 5 pumped Colossal Boy for every detail of his and Kara's battle with Mordru, and John Constantine, the Phantom Stranger, and Mr. E were listening intently to his report. After Gim finished, the Stranger said, "You are most lucky, young man. If luck, indeed, was not augmented by other forces." 

Gim leaned against the edge of the meeting table. "I'd like to think so, sir. I was praying hard enough, believe me. Anyway, all I know is that I went out like a light around the time Kara pulled those negative G's...just pretty well shot my bolt. Then, when I woke up, I was back on the table." He shifted position. "And to think she was thrown into a fight right after what we did...it's unbelievable." 

Brainiac 5 said, "Keep praying, Gim. She's going to need it. And congratulations." He clapped his friend on the back. "You both did the Legion mighty proud today." 

"You both helped save the universe today," said Mr. E, with no trace of irony. Coming from him, it sobered them considerably. 

Element Lad considered the blind man and what he had done to Drang. Technically, E had murdered Drang. This was not something he would have tolerated from a Legionnaire. Luckily, E was not one of their number, and Drang had been a spirit-being, and evil to the core. But the old man had shown himself to be as ruthless as one of their enemies. 

He was going to be glad once Mr. E was out of this caper. 

John was pacing the floor. "All right, when do we get to hear from the search party? Are they out of radio range or something? I thought you'd have better communications than that in this bleedin' century." 

Brainy said, "John, let it go. Our subwavers won't work across the anti-matter universe. The only way we can know what's going on is through the mind-bind, and that won't work until she wakes up." He didn't add "if she wakes up," but it was in his thoughts. "We're giving Tellus and Imra a rest right now. When Dev's group get back to our plane, they'll call us. Until then, we just have to wait." 

"Hell with that," grunted Constantine. "You want me, I'll be out catchin' some air on your front porch." 

"Just don't leave the grounds, John," said Element Lad. "It's different from your era out there, and we don't have time to give you an orientation." 

The trenchcoated man kept silent. But he sent up a mental message as he walked out, and hoped that it was heard: 

The deal was to bring the girl back. You don't get my marker if she doesn't come back. Alive. 

-S- 

The Old Man was at first glad that his protégé and the rest of the bunch had decided to pay him a comeback visit, after all. That is, until he caught sight of the woman they were carrying, as they approached the Eternity Rock from afar. 

"Oh, my," he said. "Most dreadful." 

He ordered two of his little homunculae to prepare a bed, others to boil some water and healing fluid, and still others to tear some white robes up for bandages, should they be needed. The rescue party was already landing near his garden. 

The brown-haired man they called Dev was carrying a blonde girl, and she didn't look good at all. 

The twelfth Captain Marvel pushed forward and confronted the wizard. "My liege, we must beg a boon from the gods. Just one of them will do." 

He peered at the battered Supergirl, held in the grieving Dev-Em's arms. Regretfully, he said to his descendant, "Begging a favor of them for a mortal, young one, no matter how powerful she is, will be a difficult thing indeed. They do not think of a mortal's death the same way that we do." 

Dev-Em said, with real threat in his voice, "Old man, we've come to your blasted rock to save her life, and if you don't..." 

William Batson stood before Dev-Em, undaunted, but sympathetic. "I did not say I wouldn't help you, young man. Just that it would be difficult. It took the playing of Orpheus to win even a chance to bring back his love from Hades. And he failed, ultimately. But we have already failed, if we do not make the attempt. Follow me, and do not treat them as rudely as you have me." 

Dev wanted to make an apology, if it would help, if anything would help save the life of the woman in his arms. But he couldn't get any words out. Superman II guided him forward by the shoulder, saying, "Come on, Dev." The wizard was walking before them, Captain Marvel behind him, as they all headed for one of the greater structures on the peak of the Rock, the temple of the Olympians. After a few steps, the Old One said, "Feh--let's fly." 

And he leaped into the air, his grey robe blowing in the breeze, and flew point as all the heroes behind him left the ground and flew. 

The temple was Grecian in style, massive as a Sphinx, and contained building materials unknown to mortal man. But few of them were intent on appreciating its architecture at the moment. Bia and Kratos, Zeus's guards, stood at the front door and waved them through. The Old Man lighted on the marble steps and walked in, as a courtesy. The others picked up on it, touched down as well, and walked in. 

Shortly thereafter, they were in the presence of the gods. 

On a golden throne with thunderbolt-carved armrests atop a tier of marble stairs sat Zeus, red-bearded and white-robed, the force of his presence daunting even at a distance. Mercury was by his side, half-naked in only a breechcloth, winged sandals, and a hat with wings, holding the serpent-wreathed Caduceus he had taken from the sun god. Venus sat at Zeus's feet, blonde and beautiful in a timeless way. Lamed Vulcan stood with his mallet stuck in his belt, black-haired, muscular, and sweating. Apollo, curly-haired, clad in a belted toga bearing the emblem of the sun on it, beamed good health and radiance and stood with folded arms at Zeus's right hand. 

The other Olympians were on a day trip to Asgard. 

The Old Man made greetings, led them in a bow (Dev took his on one knee, still holding Kara's limp body), and quickly came to his request. 

"The young woman our new friend bears in his arms has done the cosmos a great service. She and an ally have gone to the plain that separates Cursed from Blessed, and destroyed a sorcerer of great power who would have merged with Darkness. Then, so these young ones tell me, she was thrown into battle with a personification of her own darkness, which fight she won, but at great cost to herself. My protégé brought her to me, and asked me to intercede with you, in request of a healing." 

Then he stopped, and all waited in the silence to hear the gods' response. 

Zeus spoke. 

"Wizard, we have no doubt of the truth of your words. Indeed, we too have felt the forces which wracked and twisted the cosmos, but were powerless to act, blocked from direct access to mortal realms. The woman you bring to us is indeed worthy of praise, and of our gratitude. However. You know as well as we that the span allotted to any mortal is finite. When their thread is cut, it makes no difference if it be today, nor a hundred years from now, in the grand design. If this is her time, then it is her time. There would be no point in our intervention." 

Dev-Em seethed. "Bloody hell. I love this woman, you hear me? If you don't heal her, I'll tear this place down like a house of cards." He started to move forward, still holding Kara. 

"Stop!" William Batson put out an arm and blocked him. Dev tried pushing past the old man. He couldn't. Dev was amazed. Three of the Supermen got him and pulled him and Kara back, and one whispered in his ear, "Don't blow this, Dev. They've got power beyond all of ours combined. We've got to persuade them." 

After Dev had been restrained, the old wizard continued. "I beg forgiveness for the man, lord Zeus. The woman is his beloved. I am told that their love is quite young, and t'would be unfair to pluck it at this early a bloom." 

Zeus spoke again. 

"With all sympathy for this woman, her lover, and her condition, wizard, our decision still stands. We have greater import on our mind today. The payment of Eternity Rock for this millennium has not been made. It was stolen from the White Bird by an unknown brigand. The forces awaiting it are displeased, and their wrath is dreadfully provoked, even by such as we. Therefore, we must reiterate, there are greater things before us than a mortal's life." 

They looked amongst themselves, then, Superman II, Superman III, Superman IV, Superman V, Dawnstar, Laurel Kent, Mon-El, Ultra Boy, Captain Marvel XII, and even old William Batson. And their eyes showed the sadness of a rejection that would probably cost the fallen Kara her life. Laurel sniffed, wiping back a tear. Mon-El struggled not to weep himself, for Supergirl was one of his greatest friends. 

Dev-Em, at that moment, did something very strange. He handed Kara to a bewildered Old Man, saying, "Here, keep her for a minute." Then he stood before the assembled godlings, and stepped up before Zeus himself, at the bottom step of the tier. He stared straight into the eyes of the thunderer. 

"Great Zeus," he said, "am I to understand that you're looking for a piece of rock?" 

The red-bearded one said, "We have said it." 

Dev reached in his trousers. "Does it look something like this?" 

Even Zeus lunged forward on his throne to have a look. And the gods and goddess of Olympus were agog, as a human would be in their presence. 

In Dev-Em's hand, between his thumb and middle finger, was the small piece of rock he had recovered from the Cosmic Axis. 

Zeus finally admitted, "This is what we seek. You may approach the Presence." He held out his hand. 

Dev closed his fist around the rock fragment. "Not so fast, Great One. All I'm asking for is a fair exchange. If you heal Kara, you can have the rock with my compliments. If you don't..." He looked at his fellows, and their mood was tense, but, for the first time in a long moment, hopeful. 

"...If you don't, I could say that we'd tear the place up and fight you, and we're pretty strong in our own right," continued Dev. "But that wouldn't get us what we want, and we'd probably lose in the long run. So, if you don't want to deal, all I ask is that you let me die alongside her. 'Cause I really don't want to go on without Kara." 

Zeus sat silently for a second. 

The others of Dev's party didn't dare make a sound. William Batson's jaws were clamped together tightly as he waited for what was to come. 

Then Zeus said, "Apollo." 

The sun god knew Zeus's wish. He turned to Mercury and snapped his fingers. "Hand it over," he said. Grudgingly, the messenger turned over the Caduceus, which he had stolen from Apollo in ages past. 

Apollo, holding the serpent-wreathed staff, descended the steps of the marble tier and approached the Old Man and Kara. The wizard lay Supergirl gently on the floor. Dev stepped up to her. 

The god of the sun knelt and touched her with the staff. 

"Great Rao," whispered Dev, in awe of the deed. 

Within seven seconds time, the bruises on Kara's face and body withered and faded from sight, the cuts and gashes on her form healed without scar, the broken bones knit smartly, the internal bleeding stopped, her heartbeat sounded firm and rhythmic, her breathing came more easily, and even the torn parts of her costume were mended. That last, Laurel thought numbly, was a nice touch. 

She was still asleep, but she was resting soundly. Dev went on one knee, cradling her in his arms. He was crying. 

Imperturbable, Apollo held out his hand. Batson took the fragment of rock from Dev's hand, and handed it over. The sun god marched outside, onto the great marble porch of the temple, and held the bit of Eternity Rock high above his head between two fingers. 

The small white bird swooped down from the stars, snatched it from him, and sped away again. 

Inside the temple, Dev-Em was burying his head in Kara Zor-El's shoulder, and was still crying. 

Just off the Rock of Eternity, inside its event horizon, another being watched and hovered. He did not wish to be seen by the others yet. 

He didn't know if he dared. 

Well, perhaps he would just follow them from afar after they came out, and hope they were headed home. There he might be able to decide just what to do. 

He hoped he didn't scare the hell out of them. 

-S- 

Thanks to the Rock of Eternity's shortening their journey, and to the multi-light speed at which they traveled, the subwave communication that Laurel gave them through her handset only arrived a few minutes before Dev-Em's party did. It was to the point: "Kara's safe and recovering. We're all coming home now. Out." 

The various heroes and heroines whooped up a storm when they heard it. Gim Allon offered a short prayer of thanksgiving in Hebrew. Shadow Lass and Phantom Girl were grateful that Mon-El and Ultra Boy had made it through again. Dream Girl squealed and hugged Star Boy. Cosmic Boy glad-handed Lightning Lad and Saturn Girl, as the Original Three tended to do after a triumph. Action Boy, using his Mercurial powers, did a backflip out of the chair and landed on his tiptoes. Captain Action told him to watch the furniture. Blok hugged the weary Tellus, carefully. Brainiac 5 left the room, entered the john, and emerged several minutes later in control of himself. Element Lad rubbed the back of his head with both hands, then came up grinning. "Four for four," he said. The others cheered. 

Even the Phantom Stranger cracked a brief smile. 

Then he turned to Mr. E, who was still seated at the table, holding his cane. "Come, my friend, we must walk on." 

The blind man, who had seemed as resolute as a drill sergeant during the fight, suddenly seemed to be nothing more than a tired old blind man, after all. "We must?" 

"Yes, we must. You backward, I forward. But we will meet again, in earlier times. I know this for a certainty." 

Mr. E looked at the floor. "I must walk. It has been such a long, long walk. How long must I walk, Stranger?" 

The Stranger said, "Not for much longer. Only a thousand years or so. Until you come to the one whom you must teach the art of time-walking. Then you may die." 

The old man turned his face to the Stranger. "Only a thousand?" 

"Yes, my friend." 

"And then I may die?" 

"Yes." 

"How will I know the one whom I must teach?" 

"You will know him, when he comes." 

Mr. E considered it for a few seconds. "Well, then. Only a thousand. That is good news. Have we done something, today?" 

"Yes, we have, my friend. A great and good something. I thank you for your help. Shall we go? We have another friend to whom we must say goodbye." 

"Yes, yes," said Mr. E. "Hrm. I must walk. Walk again. Do you think you could help me up from this chair, young man?" 

The Stranger grasped his hand and helped the blind man up. Then he took Mr. E by the arm and led him gently to the door. Element Lad saw them. 

"Hey, Stranger, are you leaving?" he said. "Thanks for your help. Both of you. Are you sure you can't stay?" 

Neither of them acknowledged him. And, as the others were drawing him back into their festivities, Jan Arrah shrugged, and went back to his fellows. 

The twosome emerged from the building and saw John Constantine sitting on a bench in the plaza, looking at the morning sky and smoking a cigarette. The Stranger guided them over. "The woman is safe, John. And we have come to say goodbye." 

Constantine turned to face them, and only barely managed to hide his grin of pleasure before speaking. "Well, that's a nice bit of news. About Superbird, that is. How have you been keeping yourself in the last thousand years, Stranger? Still kickin' around between the two extremes?" 

"I have been busy," allowed the dark-clad man. To Mr. E, he said, "Stand, for a moment." He let go of E's arm, and offered his hand to Constantine. The blonde man in the trenchcoat took it and shook it. John was about to say, "If you're ever in contact with your younger self, tell him to come by Ed's and we'll have lunch." 

But the Stranger clapped his other hand against Constantine's forehead first. And with it, he obscured the memory of Mr. E's involvement in the adventure. 

For, sometime in the near future, he and Constantine would have to work with a much younger Mr. E, in the adventure in which they showed the fundaments of sorcery to a young boy who might become the prime magician of their age. And even Constantine might balk at associating with E, if he knew beforehand that the blind man would attempt to kill the boy, and have to walk to the end of time and back afterward. 

Now, even if one of the others told John about Mr. E's participation in the crusade, he would not retain the memory. 

But by the time they participated in the matter that would also involve Dr. Occult, John Constantine would know of E, and would be persuaded to take him on as one of the four magicians in that endeavor. 

So it was that the Phantom Stranger left John Constantine entranced for a few moments, while he took Mr. E's arm again and gently led him away, their shoes clacking on the stone of the plaza. They entered an arch and were not seen coming out the other side. By that time, the Stranger had let go of E's arm. He walked forward in time. The old man walked backward. 

They would meet a few more times, in each direction. 

Constantine came out of his trance, made the lunch offer, and said, "And don't be a stranger, eh?", before he realized that the dark walker was not there anymore. "Thanks a lot, ace," he muttered. Then he stood up. He looked about himself, and then glanced upward for a second. 

"All right, all right. Maggie Thatcher. And church. Just once. But don't rub it in, eh? Bollocks." 

Then he trudged back inside the building. 

-S- 

The rescue party touched ground not long after Constantine went back inside. Dev was still carrying Kara, and she was still sleeping. He stood there in the plaza for a moment, with the others forming a rough circle about the two of them. 

"The girl needs to get her rest," he finally said. "I don't want to take her in there, where they'd make a big commotion and maybe wake her up. I'm going to put her to bed. Will you tell the others?" 

"Certainly, Dev," said Laurel, and smiled. After all of this, the two of them were finally back together. Maybe something would come of it, after all. She was a first-class fan of romance. Especially other people's. 

Captain Marvel glanced around a bit at the architecture of the Legion's headquarters building, walking in with the rest of them. "Remarkable," he said. "Maybe I can incorporate some of these ideas into the Tower of Thunder. Do you suppose some of you might like to see my place, White Witch?" 

Mysa said, "I'm sure they would, Cap. But not today, okay?" Secretly, she chuckled. Hardly anybody called her by her heroic name. 

Dev hung back for a bit, letting the others go in, and stood alone for a bit, looking at the sleeping Kara in his arms. It had been so close...to have fallen in love with a woman in such a short time, and then to almost have her snatched away... 

There was the sound of someone else landing, behind him. Dev turned, still holding Supergirl, and dropped his jaw. "You," he said. 

"Hello, Dev," said the newcomer. 

"Uh, it is really you," Dev began. "I mean, you're not a ghost, or..." 

"Nope, it's really me. I'm glad to see Supergirl came through it all right. If it wasn't for her, I might not have woke up in time." He paused. "Do you think they'll want to see me?" 

Dev said, "Well, um, I don't really see why not. Given the circumstances and all. Uh, listen, I have to put Kara to bed. Welcome back, and all. All right?" 

"Perfectly all right, Dev," said the other. "I'll explain it all in a bit." 

The three of them went inside, and then proceeded in two different directions. 

-S- 

The Supermen, Laurel, Mysa, Ultra Boy and Mon-El got a heroes' welcome from the Legionnaires inside. Phantom Girl jumped into Jo's arms, kissed him on the cheek, and said, "Jo, I meant what I said, earlier. Do you still want to?" 

Ultra Boy said, "I've wanted to for a long, long time. But let's wait a few minutes to announce it, all right? I think they should hear about Kara first." 

"Sure. Priorities." They stared into each other's eyes and didn't say anything at all for a while. 

Mon-El and Shadow Lass hugged tightly upon meeting. Brainiac 5 stepped up to the Supermen and Laurel, who were still grouped together. "Where is Kara?" he asked. "And Dev, for that matter?" 

Superman III said, "She is still sleeping. Dev took her to--that is, he's taking her to her room. She needed her rest." 

"Oh." Brainiac considered it. "What about her injuries? What did you do about them?" 

Laurel intercepted him. "We took her to a healer, Brainy. She's going to be just fine." 

He said, "That's good. Very good. Gentlemen, my words seem inadequate to convey my thoughts in matters of emotion. But be assured you have the gratitude of the entire Legion, and of myself, for what you have done today. If we can be of aid, as we were to your ancestor, call upon us." 

Superman II said, "It's likewise a privilege for us to be of aid to the first group of heroes of which my father was a member. Thank you, Brainiac, for letting us help save our world, and our kinswoman." He shook Brainy's hand. The other four Supermen did the same, and offered their sentiments. Then they joined the others. Laurel hung back for a moment, and then approached Brainiac 5. He looked inquisitively at her. "Brainy, I--" she began. 

There was a commotion near the doorway, and a shriek from Dawnstar. Both of them whipped their heads around towards it. Brainy sprinted over to the crowd, and Laurel flew. 

The Legionnaires were massed in front of an orange-suited figure, who had caught the fainting Dawnstar. 

"I was afraid it might go something like this," admitted Wildfire. "Hi, everybody." 

-S- 

The Drygur Moliom of Rokyn was about as tense as the other members of the Science Council, but he strove to conceal it. They had been in the Tunnel longer than the scientists' estimate, longer than the greatest transitional time recorded. But that had been centuries ago. There was no way of gauging accurately how long this would take. 

They were emerging from the warp. The large monitor screen in the Council chambers told them that, relaying a satellite camera's image back to them. There was the characteristic greyness of emergence, which would last only a minute. 

"I think there is time for yet another prayer," said one of the Councilmen, anxiously. 

"There have been prayers enough, Councilman," said the Moliom, not moving from his seat. "Now is the time in which the results are shown." 

Another of them was holding a hand-sized video communicator in his lap, with his wife's face on its viewscreen. They wanted to ensure that, if need be, each other's faces were the last thing each of them saw. 

The greyness was passing, now. The Moliom leaned his chin against his fist and looked at the monitor intently. "Oh," said another council member, and was silent. 

The transition was completed. 

The Council looked at the screen before them. 

Rather than the hellfire of a nova's interior, they were looking out at the calming view of the constellations in a Rokynian night sky. There were also a number of Daxamite spaceships in view, and nobody could quite figure that out. 

A cheer went up from the councilmen in the chamber, and politicial foes found themselves hugging each other, yelling in relief, and all but dancing on the chamber floor. 

Within another minute, a communication came through from one of the Daxamite ships. Its captain bore greetings from the United Planets. He said that Daxam had been endangered as well, but now it was safe, and they were gratified to discover that Rokyn survived as well. 

"Have they discovered what caused us to start phasing again?" asked the Moliom. "And was our return simply a natural phenomenon, or were some of you responsible?" 

"Have no real information on the first question, sir, and little on the second," responded the captain. "But if it was connected to our problem...I'd conjecture the Legion of Super-Heroes had something to do with it." 

The Moliom turned to an aide. 

"Open a channel to Earth," he said. 

-S- 

The Legionnaires and the Supermen gathered round about Wildfire, who was trying to gently shake Dawnstar back to consciousness. "C'mon, Dawny," he said. "It's only me. I'm back. Uh, guys, do you think you could lend me a hand?" 

"Lend you a hand?" said Element Lad with a big smile. "Great hell, I'd think we'd have to lend you a whole body! Is it really you, Drake?" 

Mon-El and Star Boy both looked at Dream Girl. "You knew this would happen?", said Mon. 

"Oh, yes," she said, nodding. "I mean, I thought it would. I saw the suit filling up when it was tossed into the sun, and some of us flying off. So I knew that somebody would have to take one of his old containment suits up there. But I didn't want to tell Dawny. In case it wasn't totally accurate." 

"Looks like you came through again," said Star Boy. "Congratulations, Nura." 

"From me, too," allowed Mon-El. "Now I don't feel stupid about lugging it up there anymore." 

Brainiac went to a wall panel, took out a flat plate with a sensor device attached, and brought it over to Wildfire. "Drake, if you please, would you give me a short burst here?" 

"Oh, sure." He pointed the forefinger of the hand he wasn't using to prop up Dawnstar. A tiny pulse of energy popped from it and struck the plate. Its quality was analyzed by Computo. Brainy barked, "Computo: identify." 

"Energy pulse pattern consistent with and identified as that of: Drake Burroughs, codenamed 'Wildfire', designated Deceased," pronounced Computo, from a wall speaker. 

Brainy gave a half-smile. "Computo: change designation of Drake Burroughs, from 'Deceased', to--'Active'." 

Dawnstar awoke with a great gasp of breath. "Ohhh, I--Drake," she said, looking at her reflection in his face plate. "Drake, Drake, is it really you? What happened? How did they bring you back?" 

Wildfire said, "Well, Dawny, it's kind of--ah, how long have I been away?" 

"About a thousand years, give or take a few," said Cosmic Boy. 

"Oh, hell," he said. "I've been playing mumblety-peg with myself for a thousand years. I can't believe I spent all that time in that star and still stayed sane." 

Mon-El looked at him with folded arms and a wry expression. 

"I know the feeling," he said. 

-S- 

Dev-Em sat in Kara's room, on the couch, watching her sleep. 

He didn't feel like going down to the victory celebrations right now, even with ghosts in orange suits around. He wanted to be there when Kara woke up. Rao knew they deserved a little quality time together, apart from the rest. Especially if she had to go back to her own time when she got up. 

He hoped he could make her stay awhile. 

But Dev, too, was human, despite his Kryptonian nature, and was still a bit worn from his mighty labors at the Axis and his voyage to the anti-matter sun and the temple of the Olympians. And Kara still wasn't waking up. 

So whether he liked it or not, he had to lie down on the couch, close his eyes, and tell himself he'd only be out for a little while. Just a little. But he needed it. 

Twenty seconds later, he was sawing logs. 

A tea party of three watched the two of them sleeping. The hostess was Mrs. Spring, although the decor of her house had changed since Kara visited it. But then again, it would change whenever anyone visited it. Her two sons, and one of her son's pets, were the other ones present. 

"Thuthink she can suh, see us in here?" asked the black-haired son, his hand trembling a bit with the teacup. 

"Don't slosh, son, I don't want to have to press you a new pair of trousers," said Mrs. Spring. "There's a possibility she may have been sensitized a bit. But no, I don't think so. She should be oblivious to us until and unless we choose otherwise." 

"She certainly was something," allowed the other son, who wore rimless glasses and had a forked brown beard. "At least as good as that other one," he admitted. 

"Oh, huhher," said the first son, and sipped tea quickly, looking at his brother. 

The glasses-wearing one said, "Well? Aren't you going to say it?" 

"Suhsay whuwhawhat?" ventured his brother, the little gargoyle on his shoulder trying to ride out the trembling storm. 

"Say, 'The other one who bopped you in the nose and broke it,'" he snapped. He glowered at his brother. The other was shaking, but one could sense it wasn't with terror, entirely. He was doing his best to hold in a fit of giggles. 

The brown-bearded brother picked up a candlestick in fury and raised it. 

"Stop!" called out Mrs. Spring. 

They both turned their heads, and their mother looked very frightening indeed, as she did when she had to be. 

"Cain, if you kill your brother even once while you are in this house, I'll bend you over my ironing board and you won't eat sitting down for at least a twelvemonth. Do you doubt me?" 

"Uh, no, mother," said Cain, and put the candlestick back on the mantlepiece. He massaged the back of his neck. 

"Mother?" asked Abel, having finally mastered his giggle-fit. "Why did you, um, cuhcall yourself 'Mrs. Spring' when you had MuhMiss Zor-El in for tea?" 

"Oh, you booby," complained Cain. "It's her name in Hebrew. 'Life-spring'. Don't you learn anything in a million years' time?" 

"That will be all, boys," announced Mrs. Spring. She held out an apron. "This is for you, Cain. I want you to do the dishes for me. And you, Abel, take your little gargoyle friend and go do the hedges. And make sure and get the back this time, and don't think I don't mean it." 

Both of them said, "Yes, mother," and went to do their chores. 

Over the warm and soapy dishpan, Cain mused, muttered, and rubbed disconsolately. Occasionally he glanced out the window at his brother with the hedge clippers. Of course, there were other uses hedge clippers could be put to. 

And clippers weren't meant for use inside the house, after all. 

Cain began to sing while he worked. It really did make the task go faster. 

-S- 

Supergirl awoke with a start. She took in her surroundings in a glance, realized she was in the room she used at Legion headquarters and that she was in bed with her uniform on, except, thankfully, for her boots, which had been taken off and placed thoughtfully by the nightstand. She massaged the back of her neck for a moment, and caught site of Dev, snoring on the couch. 

Kara sniffed her own underarm and made a face. There was no deodorant that worked worth a rip in the anti-matter universe. 

It came back to her at once, then, and she was terrified for an instant. 

The battle. The pain. The death of Satan Girl. Then her merciful unconsciousness. 

Was she dead now? Was this the Happy Lands, which a thoughful Rao, perhaps, had stocked with a vision of Dev? 

Quickly, she trained her x-ray vision and hearing powers on the area beyond her room. She saw the rest of the Legion's headquarters complex, saw the other Legionnaires and the Supermen, and heard a bit of their conversation. She cut it off after a few seconds. 

Somehow, she had been saved and brought back to the Legion's headquarters building. She had been healed, incomprehensible as it seemed. And Dev had come to watch over her, but fallen asleep. 

It was better to let Dev sleep, she decided. He probably needed it as much as she had. Evidently, they'd both made it, and he'd brought her back. He would have answers for her, when he woke up. She walked barefoot over to where he lay and regarded him, tenderly, almost touching his hand, then thinking better of it. 

The strangest thing, she thought as she walked into the bathroom and eased the door shut, was the bloodstains on her suit. Undoubtedly they were of her blood, and some of Satan Girl's as well. But she didn't feel wounded, and when she had passed out, she was still feeling her wounds...all of them. 

Kara locked the door, stripped her shirt, cape, and bra off, and examined herself in the mirrorscreen. A camera behind her projected an image of her back, beside the frontview. She lifted her arms, ran her hands over her body, stepped out of her skirt and panties, hoping that Dev wasn't awake and choosing to use his X-ray vision just then, and checked the rest of herself out. 

Well, whatever the case was, she was certainly mended well. Perhaps someone like Raven had given her a healing treatment. Perhaps she had been in an artificial coma for a long time, while her body healed itself. 

She drew a bath in the soft brownness of the tub, got into it, and soaped herself well. She also washed her hair and rubbed both it and the rest of her body dry after the bath with a towel that was treated so as not to burn up with the friction of super-speed. She chose a brown robe with the "S" shield embroidered over her right breast (it had been done by Duo Damsel, who was good at such things) and wrapped it around her, belting it tight. Then, with the water and suds still in the tub, she soaked her costume and scrubbed it clean of bloodstains with her hands, the soap, and some judicious heat-vision. Once it had been cleansed, she wrung it out, blasted it all over with her vision-power until it was dry, and put it on a hangar. Then she lifted the tub stopper and let the water flow out, and was a bit unnerved by how much of the stuff that went down the drain was brownish in color. 

Finally, she combed and styled her hair again, spritzed herself with some of the scent she kept around in both her 20th and 30th Century bathrooms, and padded back out the door again. 

Dev was awakening. She was glad of it. She walked over to him and sat on the edge of the couch where he lay. 

"Kara?" he said, looking at her in the semi-darkness. 

"Me, love," she said, leaning on one elbow. "I guess we're both back." 

She kissed him. 

-S- 

"To begin with," Wildfire was saying, "The shock of the thing killed the Anti-Monitor. I'm fairly certain of that, because I don't think I could have been in the thing as long as I was and not known of him if he was still around. I think it almost killed me, as well. I mean, there we were, in an energy / matter / anti-matter reaction. It was a miracle I got us far enough away so that when we both went boom, it didn't take all the rest of you with it." 

"I think you're good at miracles, Drake," said Dawnstar, not wavering her gaze from her reflection in his face plate, and sitting with one of his hands in both of hers. "Go on." 

"But you know, that's all I am right now, is energy," he continued. "So if I really get killed, ever, it may be they can't do it that way. I do think that it knocked me out for a long time. Maybe a few centuries. I don't know, I don't have any way of estimating it. 

"Anyway, when I came back to myself, I was surprised there was so much of myself to come back to. I didn't have the same perceptions, by a long shot. I mean, I was a whole 50 per cent or so of a star. I was covering, well, a lot of area. I tried pushing off of it, getting myself together, but it was no go. My consciousness, my components, they were just scattered all over the mass of it, all bound atomically to that plasma, and I just couldn't get them massed together. Not back then, at any rate. I was mad, I was scared, I was frustrated, all of that, and then I finally accepted it, at least to a big degree. I was a star, and that was all there was to it. 

"After awhile, I got pretty good at sending out my consciousness. I could reach as far as Qward, that world of weirdos the Anti-Monitor used to rule. They were still rewarding the wrong kind of behavior in that society, at least by my yardstick. So I tried sending out some mind-messages, and scared the hell out of a number of people, maybe literally. By the time I was done, I'd started a whole new religion out there. Didn't set myself up as a god, but started them thinking differently, talked to some of their minds, and told them I was the little man in the sun, and I could see them everywhere they went. And that communication, well, that helped to keep me sane. As sane as I was kept, I mean. 

"They had a big religious crisis over it, and the other side started a war, as much as I tried to prevent it. I really did, but you know how that stuff usually goes. My side basically won, so it's held supreme over a good part of the planet now. Not that I've got anything against Anti-Monitor worship, as long as the worshippers treat each other nicely. They weren't doing that before. Am I rambling?" 

"You've got a right to ramble, Drake," said Saturn Girl. "Go right on and ramble." 

"So there I was, talking to a lot of people through their minds for a lot of years, and that's basically how I spent it, other than in giving out heat and light and all that stuff. I got more and more of my control mass centralized, over the years, and kept hoping that I'd make it out someday. I didn't know if I could survive separated from the star, without one of these suits. But I kept trying. I made some really big solar prominences trying, let me tell you. 

"And then I was doing one of these prominences, and I heard a sending from someone else. Someone I knew. Yeah, I can remember one of my friends from back-when, even if it's been hundreds of years, because I know you all. I never forgot you. Especially not--" He nodded at Dawnstar, and she beamed, thanking the Great Spirit silently. 

"Well, it sounded like Supergirl. And she was telling somebody to go to hell, and about then, something goes splat! into one of my prominences, and I had a blowup that really woke me up all the way. It was a full-fusion blowup. I'd detonated something of human-sized mass, and I hoped it wasn't Kara, especially if she'd come all that way to see me. But from her sending, I realized it was somebody else she'd flung into me. As soon as I could, I started sending out thought transmissions, but I couldn't get a response from her. I kind of imaged her body where it was floating from gravity fluctuations and light blockage. So I tried to keep as much of my mass as I could away from her, because I didn't know if she was shielded or not. I guess I was right to." 

"You were," said Superman II. "Sorry, go ahead." 

"Then some more of you came, and got her," said Wildfire. "I tried sending, but I figured that you had your minds on different priorities just then. From what I could pick up of your thoughts, I could tell she was in a really bad way. You were about to head out on that salvation run. I thought that might be the last I ever saw of you. Then one of you ejected that tiny mass, but I was picking up the attractors from it when it came within range of me. It was..." He felt of his chest area with his gloved hands. "It was this old suit. And with that, I knew I could fill it up again. I could remanifest myself. So I did. I wasn't a sun anymore--I was Wildfire again." 

He was silent for a few seconds. Before anyone else could prod him, he said, "But you know, I think there's still some of my consciousness back there, in the star. Not that I'm missing anything, like memories or such--I don't think so, anyway--but I think I might have kind of cloned myself. I might go back there, one of these days, and see if I could have a conversation with myself. Because if it's anything like I was before, that star's probably pretty lonely." He said it with no irony at all, and nobody laughed at him. 

"Well, I--after I got my bearings back, I saw the group with Supergirl. I wanted to show myself to them, wanted to make myself known to them, but I was, well, scared. I hadn't met anybody in a physical way, in a touching way, for about a thousand years, as it turned out." He laughed. "I cannot believe I'm talking this way. It sounds so stupid." 

"No, it doesn't, Drake," said Sun Boy. "You were saying?" 

"Ah, I hung back, kind of tailed them at a distance. I suppose any of you could have looked back and seen me, if you knew where to look, but you were really concerned with Kara then, and I don't blame you. So I waited while you went in that floating rock, then trailed you again when you came out and came back here. And when Dev and Kara were out there, and the others of you had gone inside, I decided to finally screw up the old courage and test myself. I came down and introduced myself to Dev. For a moment there, he seemed to think I was a ghost. And I don't blame him. But he seemed to accept me, so I figured I'd come in and see if anyone would--uh--you know." 

"Accept you," said Phantom Girl, quietly. "As if you had to ask, Drake. We've been grieved by your loss for some time now. If you, or any of the others we've lost, were to come back, don't you think we'd accept them?" 

"Oh, I think we would," said Lightning Lad, holding Imra's hand. "They did me." 

Wildfire paused. "Thanks, people. I know that, sometimes, I wasn't the easiest guy to get along with--" 

Element Lad said, "Oh, stow it! You think we're going to hold a couple of personality clashes against you at a time like this? Welcome back, you dumbo!" 

Mon and Ultra Boy grabbed Wildfire on either side. Laurel understood what they were about to go, and grabbed Wildfire's legs. Before Drake could ask them what the hell they were doing, they had flung him up, bounced him off the ceiling, and done it two more times, to the laughter and cheers of the other Legionnaires. Then they caught him a final time, and put him back on his feet. 

"Welcome back, Wildy, on behalf of the whole Legion," said Element Lad. "Now I'm sure you and Dawny would like a little time to be alone together. So, gang, why don't we shelve the rest of the celebration until they and Kara and Dev get back? That'll give us some time to get things prepared." 

"It'll give us time to get some sleep," said Lightning Lass, stifling a yawn. 

A tone in the wall signified Computo's intrusive presence. Brainiac looked up and said, "Computo, report." 

"Message from member Reep Daggle, codename Chameleon Boy," it said. "Recorded subwave transmission." 

"Go ahead and play it," Brainy directed. Some of the Legionnaires felt a twinge of guilt. They'd almost forgotten about the one of their number who was still recuperating on Zerox. 

The viewscreen near the meeting table lit up and showed a view of Chameleon Boy, his midsection still wrapped in pain-killing bandages where he had taken a heat-vision blast from Satan Girl. He wasn't quite in the pink, but he was still smiling bravely. 

"Greetings from the good ship X7H slash 91 dash 12," he said. "I know it isn't much of a name, but we Durlans tend to be unimaginative when it comes to naming spacecraft. The folks on Zerox have been pretty nice to me...I guess Kara threw a real scare into them when she made that speech they told me about. I'm still on the mend, but they let me use a communicator and I asked my homeworld to send a ship after me. Don't bother apologizing, I've heard of the doings on Rokyn and Daxam. I figure you're all involved with that right now. I'll be on-planet in about five hours. You can send a transmission here, if you need to. That's all, and see you soon." He gave the Legion salute. His image winked out. 

Element Lad said, "Computo, send a non-vid reply. Start: 'Great to see you Cham stop all missions successful stop Wildfire's back stop more details when you get here stop well done endit. Transmit." 

The five Supermen were standing off by themselves, watching the others and talking among themselves. "We need to get back," said Superman V. "Much as I like meetin' other folks in our line of work, this really isn't our time." 

Superman II, their unofficial leader, nodded. "I know, Five, but I thought we should wait for Kara. We all want to say goodbye to her. I even want to say goodbye to Dev. I started out disliking him, but darned if the son of a babootch didn't turn out to be a man in total, when we needed him, and when Rokyn needed him." 

"When Kara needed him, too," said Superman IV. "Most of all, granddad." 

Superman III, his hands behind his back, said, "There's one thing we haven't considered yet--at least, not openly. Do you think we need to have our memories of this erased? I mean, now we know how part of our future is going to turn out--that all of us will end up being in the family business, so to speak. Shouldn't we--" 

Superman VI came to stand before him. "Should anyone attempt to erase the memories of this endeavor, of my meeting with my ancestors, and with Supergirl, Dev, and the others, I would smash him into the earth. We can keep a secret. It is well met that we remember." 

"A little more forcefully than I'd put it," admitted Superman II. "But basically, Six, I think I agree." 

Captain Marvel XII found himself sitting with Captain Action and Action Boy, and was excited when he found that the sources of their powers included some of the gods who powered him. He even stuck out his arm for an arm-wrestle with Action, who declined gracefully, to Action Boy's amusement. "Very soon, we'll have to go back to our time with Krellik," said Captain Action. "But perhaps, sometime, we can meet again. Right now, our job is still to find and neutralize Dr. Evil." 

"Dr. Evil?" noted Marvel, with a raised eyebrow. "Even on my world, I thought I'd run into some villains with corny names. But that takes it. Who is this guy, another worm villain like my ancestor fought?" 

"He's my grandfather," said Action Boy. 

"Oh," said Marvel. 

"There is one thing you could do for us, Captain," said Carl Arno. "We can't destroy the Coin of Loki that gives Krellik his power. But if you could take it back to the Eternity Rock they told us about...well, it'd be a thousand years and an entire dimension away from him. And it'd be watched over by Zeus and company, themselves. That sound like an idea to you?" 

Marvel beamed. "Sounds like a great idea, Action. Glad to help out." He turned to Action Boy and clapped him on the shoulder. "How's about a few laps around the planet to see whose speed of Mercury is the best, lad?" 

Carl Arno said, "Um, thanks, Cap'n, but...not today." 

Wildfire and Dawnstar had finally broken away from the crowd and were headed for Dawnstar's room. They couldn't make love, at least not in any way that Dawny knew how, but they could be with each other. 

"Are you all right, Dawny?" asked Wildfire, still holding her hand. "You seem a little distant. I must still look like a ghost." 

"Hm? Oh, no, you're fine, Drake," she said, and squeezed his gloved hand. 

Must I tell him about my assignation with Jhodan?, she thought. Must I let him know that I have tasted love with one other than him, before I thought he was dead, and that the sort of love he could not give me was sweet...and that I still, Manitou forgive me, want it? 

Perhaps, she sadly told herself, it would have been better for her had he not come back at all. 

And she damned herself thoroughly for that thought. 

-S- 

Dev and Kara had kissed repeatedly, and had not stopped embracing, while he told her the tale of their journey to the Rock of Eternity and her healing by Apollo himself. She was hard-put to believe it, but the knowledge of what he had done for her warmed her heart all the more. "There's something I have to tell you, too, Dev," she said, her head on his shoulder, her body feeling his hardness. 

"Mm-hmm?" he asked, nuzzling her ear. 

"There was one thought that kept me going, through all that fight with Satan Girl, besides the fact of what she'd do if I didn't stop her." She paused. 

He finally said, "Okay, Kara. What?" 

"That I'd never get to make love to you if I died out there," she said, all in a rush, and trembled. 

He pulled his head back to look her full in the face. Then he reached into a pocket of his pants with one hand and pulled something out. "I, uh, bought these awhile back. For protection. In case you--" 

"I'll help you with it," she said, and opened her robe, tense in her anticipation, wondering what Kal would think of her, and finally deciding to hell with what he thought. 

Dev gazed at her perfection, embraced her again, kissed her again, and she helped him with his clothes. 

-S- 

By this time, the others down in the meeting room had decided that whatever Kara and Dev were doing in their room, they were going to keep doing it for a good while longer. Most of them had a pretty good idea of what it was, too, though nobody was crude enough to state it outright. Most of the Legionnaires were pretty tired from their various efforts. Thus, most of them opted for some Quicksleep, and filed out to their rooms in the complex. The five Supermen and Captain Marvel XII took off for a short tour of the planet, leaving word that they'd be back in an hour or so. Captain Action and Action Boy decided they needed to get home. So, with a drugged Krellik, they were sent back in a Time Cube to a moment about an hour after they had left with the Legion. How they finally found Dr. Evil, and what occurred when they did, is a story for another day. 

Before long, only Brainiac 5 and Laurel Kent were left in the room. He was there because he had already slept. She was there because she didn't need to, yet, because she hadn't gotten a chance to speak with him very much since she came back, and because of the expression of solitude on his face as he sat at Computo's console, inputting data into it through a forehead-feed. 

"Brainy." 

"Hmm? Hello, Laurel," he said, glancing at the Kryptonian girl standing beside him for a second.   
  
"Qwerl?" Maybe she'd have better luck using his real name. 

"Yes, Laurel, what?" he asked, still turned to the screen before him. 

"Blast it to Sheol, will you look at me while I'm talking? Powers on!" She turned him towards her, grabbing his shoulder and swivelling the whole seat around. "Now will you talk to me? I wanted to say thank you for what you've done for me." 

"Oh, well, Laurel, you should really thank yourself," muttered the Coluan. "I just more or less brought out the powers that were inherent in you. You just couldn't access them, hitherto." 

She crouched before him, bending her knees and sweeping her cape back a bit. If he was like any guy she knew, 12th-level brain or not, her bikini-clad bod ought to keep his attention. She could tell that it did. 

"Come on, Brainy," she said. "You know I didn't even know I had them, until you hypnotized me. I thought that punch I did with Ar-Ual was just adrenalined. You were smart enough to figure out what was happening, and you gave me what I'd been wanting all my life. So thank you very much for it." She leaned in and pecked him on the cheek. He looked dumbfounded, but not unpleased. 

"Well, uh, thank you very much for that," he said. She wondered if he would turn a deeper green if he blushed. 

She cut to the chase. "You're looking down. Want to talk about it? We're all alone. We could even go outside if someone else shows up." 

He looked at her, tiredly. "It seems that everyone here has unencrypted my data. Am I that transparent?" 

"I'm a woman, Brainy. I know about love." She waited for him to say something. When he did, he didn't want to look at her. 

"The woman I've wanted for most of my life is upstairs now, making love with a man who has nothing of what I have to offer, and I have nothing of what he has to offer," he said. "The worst part of it is, I can't even hate him. He's probably good for Kara. The battle's done, to the victor belong the spoils." 

"It's not like that, Brainy," she said, sitting on the edge of the meeting table. "Kara likes you a lot. She just never wanted you. That happens. I know it doesn't make it feel any better, but when it happens, it does. It's happened to everybody, sometime or other." 

"To you?" he asked. 

She nodded. "Once in awhile." 

He sighed. "Do you know there was a time when Shadow Lass wanted me? It was right at the time she joined the Legion. We were both attracted to each other. But taking her would have meant giving up Kara. So she gave up on me and went with Mon-El. Which I don't blame her for." 

Laurel crossed her bare legs. "Tell you what, Brainy. Why don't you give up on her, and go with somebody else?" 

Cautiously, he said, "Like who?" 

"Me." 

He laughed, briefly. "Laurel! I mean, are you really ser--" 

"Hush, Brainy." She crossed her fingers, Kryptonian fashion. "You're hurting, we all can see it. I think you're kind of nice. I'd like to see if we're, like, maybe compatible. Now, wait!" She cut off his upcoming words with a gesture. "I'm not saying I'm going to go to bed with you. I can't even promise you we're going to be a big romantic item. But you're here, and I'm here, and, like, I think I can skip the Kara ceremonies." She grinned wickedly. "Wouldn't it be great, you know, if when Dev and Kara come out, they see all the rest of the gang, and the Supermen, and all...and they notice the two of us aren't there?" 

She waited. After a second or two, Brainiac began to smile. "Where do you want to go?" he asked. 

"I'm hungry. You've never been to the best Rokynian restaurant in town, I'll bet." 

"Sounds like a winner to me," he said. "Do the waiters dress up like Superman?" 

"Oh, I hope not!" she giggled. 

Brainiac took the forehead lead off. "Computo," he said, looking at Laurel. 

"Functioning." 

"When the rest of the Legionnaires enter the meeting room, tell them that Laurel and I are out. Tell them to--carry on without us." He smiled, and extended his hand to her. 

She picked him up bodily and flew him out the meeting room door, out of the building, and into the night sky. "Whoa!" he said, and thought, I've traded one Kryptonian for another. But it looks like I might have better luck with this one. 

Laurel, for her part, thought about how Power Boy had had a crush on her. 

She shrugged. Sheol with that. Let him get his own girl. 

-S- 

It was about noon, and John Constantine was in the commissary, alone. About the only thing he could figure out was getting coffee out of a dispenser. "I'm starving," he muttered. Then, remembering what he had seen Brainiac 5 do, he hollered, "Computero! Hey, you up there in the wall speaker! How's about some eggs and hash browns, like? Sunny side up, and not too runny? Think y'can handle that?" 

He waited. 

"Compute, I'm talking to you," he said. Then he gave it up, and was just about to see if he could find somebody and ask what to do. 

That was when White Witch walked in, having just refreshed herself with a shower and change of outfit. He looked straight at her, his hands fairly immobile on his Silk Cut pack. "Umph," he muttered, absently. 

"It won't work unless you're voice-coded for it, John," she said. "Even then, you have to call it by its proper name. Computo." 

"Functioning," it said. 

"Prepare standard breakfast number seven for our guest. Eggs not undercooked, sunny side up. For me, my standard lunch." 

"Meals in process," the voice said, and went about its work. Hums were heard behind two wall panels. Within thirty seconds, the panels opened up. Two Computo servos shushed out, airborne with trays which they placed before Constantine and Mysa. Then they flew back to the wall panels, which closed up behind them. 

"Well, I s'pose I don't have to leave 'em a tip," said John. He took a fork from a plastic packet and dug into his eggs. 

In the midst of eating the flesh of an animal from her homeworld, Mysa said, "John, tell me something about yourself." 

He stiffened. 

Mysa put down her fork. "All right, John. Don't tell me anything. I know how it can be sometimes." 

"No, you don't," he said. "And be glad of it, or you wouldn't have asked." He went back to eating. 

She thought of a new tack. "Do you have a lady back home?" 

That seemed to bring him back around. He looked at her sidewise. "I've had a few here and there," he admitted. "Some of them in the line of duty, y'know. Yourself?" 

"I've had a lover or two," she admitted. "What do you do for a living, where you come from?" 

He speared some hash browns with his fork, brought them to his mouth, chewed thoughtfully to give himself time. "Precious little, I gotta admit. I get by. What I do, I don't do for free. I make arrangements. Heh. Used'ta be a rock 'n' roll singer, but who in my end of town ruddy didn't, back then?" 

"Is rock-in-roll a style of music?" she asked. "Perhaps your form of opera?" 

He snorted. "Lady, y'have just made me very depressed about your century. Here's the sort of thing I sang." He put down his fork, stood up, and mimed holding a microphone, hamming it to the hilt. Then he gave her an a capella version of "Venus of the Hard Sell." Except that he changed one line, and sang it thusly: 

Soldier boys die but Supergirl still flies   
Violent days--it's a permanent craze   
It never pays to love the Venus of the Hardsell 

And after he ended with "Don't die for the Venus of the Hardsell," he pretended to be utterly exhausted, the applause of a million wonka wizards in the biggest stadium in Britain thundering over him and almost drowning out an E-note from his backing band. Friggin' hell, he thought, making himself honest, they'd never worked their way out of pub dates. 

He was surprised when he did hear somebody clapping. 

John cocked an eye and saw Mysa banging her hands together and laughing a bit. 

"Ah, thenk'oo, ladies 'n' gennlemun, thenk'oo very much," he said. Then, coming back to himself, he admitted, "'Course, since it's about 1000 Anno Elvis, doubt you know it. That was our big hit, though we did it a bit louder. Now, can I ask you a question, fer a change?" 

She shrugged. "I guarantee no answers." 

"Fair enough. Okay. You said you asked your computer about who to call on when you paid your visit, and it said me. Not that I ain't flattered. But why?" 

She toyed with her napkin, looking down at her plate, and then looked up at him. "I honesty don't know. I suppose I could get Brainy to run an analsis of the factors the comp used in making the decision. But based on what I've seen, John, I could make some conjectures." 

He sat down opposite her, took another cigarette out--just about his last one, and lit it. "Proceed, dearie," he said. 

Mysa touched her forehead, running her fingers over her antennae. It was a gesture she made sometimes when she was thinking of how to phrase something. "I don't think it was because of power. I don't sense that much energy in you, not that way. I believe you do have a lot of practical knowledge of the Art. But knowledge without practice is an empty thing. Still, there might be many with more knowledge and more ability than you. But there's something more." 

He waited, letting the ash lengthen on his cigarette. 

"You know how to coordinate things. I don't see you so much as a warrior as a general. You seem to have an overview of the forces, and the ability to figure out who needs to go where and do what to get something done. That's a rare ability. I'm trying to develop what I have in that direction. Being the lone Artist in the Legion, except for Sensor Girl, whom I know has some ability, is difficult. But I do my best. And I think I've learned a lot from you." 

After a few seconds, he said, "Well, thank'ee, Missy. I've had a lot worse tributes from a lot bigger figures. Not that there's anythin' wrong with yours, mind." She grinned. "Hey," he said. He gave her his hand to shake, and she shook it. 

But she didn't let go of it. 

He gave her a quizzical look. 

"You're leaving later today, John," she said. 

"Well, yes, Missy, I expect I am," he said. 

"Would you like to make an arrangement before you go?" 

He looked at her and said, "Well, under the circumstances, Missy, I imagine such arrangements could be made. Um, where should we make 'em?" 

"My room," she said. "But I'll thank you to keep quiet about it." She let go of his hand. 

"Compared t'me, the statue of Lord Nelson is a regular chatterbox," he said. He went around the table, and she gave him her hand again. Before they walked up, he looked up at the wall speaker. "Keep yer bloody yap shut about this," he told it. 

She giggled. He found that endearing. 

He regarded her. "Y'know, when we met, I thought you would'a rather be on latrine detail than give me the time of day." 

"When we met, that's a pretty accurate statement of how I felt about you," she said. "But I've seen a little more of you since then. And I like it." 

"I could do a right boff wisecrack to that, but I won't," he said. "Lead the way, darlin'." 

Luckily there was no one in the hallway at the time. Well, he told himself, Constantine old boy, she's not the first bird who's wanted to get under your trenchcoat. 

He thought of Zatanna. 

Then he figured that what would happen 1,000 years down the line shouldn't worry her too much. 

-S- 

"Dev." 

"Mmph?" he said. 

"We're going to have to go down there pretty soon," said Kara. 

"They can wait a little longer," he opined, lying naked beside her. "But I'll get up in a bit and we can go." 

She sat up a bit more, folding her arms over her breasts. "Can I talk to you about something?" 

"Whatever you want. Talk, Kara." 

She moistened her lips. "I'm feeling bad about something." 

"What we did?" He turned to look at her, propping himself up on one elbow. "Now, look here, Kara, what you did was one of the most beautiful things you've ever done, I would imagine." 

"Not that, you big dope," she said, playfully whacking him on the head. "But don't interrupt me till I'm done. Because you won't know what I'm feeling bad about until I tell you. Believe me." 

He waited. She began to speak again. 

"Today, or yesterday, maybe, I killed twice. Before that, a few weeks ago, I helped kill the Anti-Monitor. I don't think I had a choice in any of these matters. But I wish I hadn't had to kill Satan Girl. Maybe even Mordru, but I don't see any way we could have stopped him otherwise. I feel a little bad about the killings, but not that I had to kill them. Do you understand the distinction?" 

Dev said, "I think I do. You know you did the right thing, but you don't like the fact that you had to do it." 

She nodded. "Yes. That's it, exactly. Kal's been a super-hero 18 years longer than me. I don't think he's had to kill yet. Or if he has, he didn't tell me, and I think he would. The thing is, I feel as though it should make me feel worse than it does. Not that I don't feel bad about it, in some ways. Satan Girl bore a child. She wanted to find it, wanted to be its mother. As much hate as she had in her, she had enough love for that." 

He nodded at her. "Her redeeming trait. Are you finished yet, Kara?" 

"Almost. I'm afraid that I might get to the point where killing doesn't bother me at all, or that I might see it as a viable alternative. That's not a nice feeling to have, Dev." She paused, and then said, "That's it. I can't think of anything else to say that I haven't already said, in one way or another." 

Dev said, "Now you want me to tell you what I think of your feelings?" 

"Yes," she said. "But I want you to know that I love you very much, and that I couldn't ask anybody but you about them right now. Or maybe ever." 

She would have given a year's salary to have a camera right then to record the tender look he gave her. 

"Well, love, to begin. I understand your feelings about the matter. But the way I look upon it is, soldiers don't often have the option to pick and choose. No poor farmboy, or its equivalent, knows sprite-of-the-morning about killing when he gets called into an army, or joins voluntarily. He gets trained in theory and practice, but he does not get to actually kill anybody until his number comes up and he gets into battle. Now: the first poor sod that he gets to kill, who is he? Is he some slavering fiend that sacrifices babies to a dark god? Is he some maniac that runs down the main thoroughfare with a blaster, seeing how many people he can off before his charge runs out? Nope. Just some poor beggar like him, wondering about how long he's got till he's out, wondering how he'll manage to get a job when he does and make payments on an apartment and transport, and whether or not he'll get laid on Saturday night." Kara laughed. He smiled at her. "At least we didn't have to worry about that this Saturday night, eh, love? But to resume. 

"So the war is fought, like all damn wars are fought, either by some yobbo with a pointed stick or about twelve hundred men manning one of the Dreadnought ships. And afterwards, the lads that come back seem less worried with killing, then the ones who got killed beside 'em...because they feel that, one inch to the left or right, hey, it's me in the ash canister with the flag decal on the front of it. They start thinking, 'Why am I so bloody good, so much better than the guy on the left or the right, who bought it?' Yeah, I know this is shopworn, but bear with me. 

"Now, look at it this way. We are put here, we are raised up, if you will, because there are things out there which only we can deal with, given the powers we have, because the bad things really do exist outside of the children's books and we're lucky that we're only asked to handle so few of 'em. You don't like the fact that you were placed in the path of some of these cretins, some of these black figures, and that you were forced to do what you had to do. But consider it, Kara: do you think they would have had the least bit of sympathy for you, if they'd been the ones to break your pretty little neck?" He waited. 

"I know they wouldn't have," she said. "But--" 

"None of that 'but' crap, please, Kara," he said. "The Anti-Monitor. He wasted whole universes. You wouldn't be able to calculate the lives he took. From what I hear, he damn near killed you, Kal, and another Supergirl, and if it hadn't been for that healer girl, he would have, even after you killed him. If he had killed you, you can bet that every universe with a single human being or sentience in it that we could relate to would have been--flimpf. Now. Do you honestly feel it was a bad thing that you helped kill him?" 

"No," she said. 

"No 'but' this time," he noted. "That's good. Now we consider Mordru. You and the others have fought him time after time after time. He's probably got more power under that silly hat he wore than the whole Legion has in its membership, countin' all the reserves and Subs and hangers-on. You neutralized him time and again. You didn't kill him. He had his chance to reconsider, every step of the way. At any time, he could've said, 'This being a space tyrant is boring. I'm going to be a good little space tyrant.' Didn't. That type never does. To them, it's all about power, Kara. Not the fact that they kill, but how much power they get when they kill the right people...even if a whole damn world has to get killed 'cause it's in their way. 

"Well, Rokyn was in his way, and so was Daxam, 'cause they have billions of people with the same powers as you and me. He sent out Adam and Ar-Ual to kill every one of those people, and put a spell on 'em to make sure they didn't turn back. The boys and I nearly broke our backs making sure he didn't kill Rokyn. Jan and company barely managed to save Daxam. Finally, Mordru wants to merge with Evil itself. You and Gim stopped him. He couldn't have been stopped by anything except what you did, Kara. Could he?" 

"Not unless he stopped himself," she admitted. "And he wasn't going to do that." 

"No, so you had to do it. You were chosen, because, somehow, whatever chose you knew that you and Gim could do the job. And afterward, Satan Girl? Are you really going to say we could have reformed her? Or that all those murders she did, and all those she would've done, didn't matter, just because she had a kid?" 

She sighed. "They all matter. I don't think she would have stopped till one or the other of us was dead. I had three fights with her beforehand...four, if you count the one before these last few. I didn't want to kill her. But she just wouldn't stop." 

"No," Dev said, putting a hand on the cold flesh of her arm. "And that's why you did stop her. So don't feel bad about that, Kara. Just thank Rao that you had the skill, strength, and guts to do it, when you had to. But, Kara, the fact of your feelings signifies something precious: your morality, sweetheart. And that's a very good thing. So, if you can follow me: I think you should feel good about your feeling bad about something very good that you had to do. Does that make any sense?" 

She hugged him again. "It does, Dev. Why don't you quit being a spy and start being a psychiatrist? I'll come to you five nights a week." 

"Only that?" 

"I've got to have some time to patrol, don't I?" 

Before Dev could answer, a new voice was heard. It came from the wall speaker. 

"Kara Zor-El, your presence is requested in the meeting room," said Computo. "The persons known as Codename: Superman II through VI wish to pay their respects, before they depart." 

"Damnation," said Dev. "Bloody mechanical peeping Tom." 

"Tell them that we'll be down directly," said Kara to the computer. "Endit. Come on, Dev, let's get dressed." 

-S- 

The Supermen and Captain Marvel came back not long after Kara and Dev made their entrance to an empty room. All six of the returnees reacted with predictable joy, but Marvel had the same flustered and delighted look that Dev had seen on his face when Dawnstar had peered in at them in the bath chamber. Just a big kid, Dev thought, and probably never had a woman yet. Well, sorry, lad, but she's spoken for. 

Kara stepped up to shake his hand. "We haven't had a chance to talk, Captain, but I want to thank you for what you did for me," she said. "I've met your ancestor and his two partners already. I'm glad you're carrying on his tradition." 

"Um, oh, my, thank you," said Marvel, fumfuhing at light speed. "I, uh, haven't met my mentor's assistants. Tell me--was Mary--" 

"She was very pretty," said Kara. "I enjoyed working with her. You would have liked Junior, too." 

"Gosh, thanks," he said, turning red and smiling at the floor. Dev had to hide his face to keep from cracking up. 

Superman II made a graceful save by being the next to step up and shake her hand. "I also wish to pay my respects, Tynth Kara," he said. "I, personally, am honored I had the chance to meet the first Supergirl. I'm only sorry my father couldn't have been among us. But I know he would have been as proud of you today as we all are. You credit the Els." He turned to Dev, and shook his hand as well. "Dev, I was prepared not to like you when we met. Brush up on your recruiting tactics. For now, all I can say is that I'll never think of you as the Knave of Krypton anymore. Good job." 

Dev returned the shake, and said, "You're a pretty good hand in a situation yourself, Jor. If you ever get the chance, come and visit. Just call ahead to make sure I'm there, okay?" 

"My turn, dad," said Superman III. He shook Kara's hand and said, "Tynth Kara, I credit you with the ability to keep this meeting a secret from me until we meet after this, in my time. I thought it was really something to be able to go out with Dad and Granddad on a three-man mission. But right now, all I can think of is--Gramps doesn't know what he missed!" 

She laughed. "All right, Kal, I'll keep it a secret. But only until you tell me you know!" 

After III shook hands with Dev, it was Superman IV's round. "We have seen many wonders today, Tynth Kara. We have assembled five generations of Supermen. We have realigned the Cosmic Axis, and rescued our world of Rokyn. But none of these, and none of the other things which have been done, please me more than meeting you, and seeing you rescued from death. Take care, and know that you will never be forgotten by the great-grandson of the Superman you know." 

"Thank you, Dav," she said. "You and the others are a credit to our line as well. Take that from someone who knows the first Superman best of all." 

Supes IV moved down to shake and farewell with Dev. Superman V took his place, with a big farmer-boy grin. "Tynth Kara, I just can't wait to get home, tell all the rest of the women in our line how pretty you looked, and watch 'em all turn green with envy and hightail it to the beauty shop. Just you wait, they'll all be tryin' to get that Kara look." 

She broke up laughing. "Get on with you, Kor. Do you act this way with all the women you meet? If you do, I'll bet your wife burns you in bed with her heat vision." 

"Sometimes she does!" laughed Kor-El. "Sometimes she burns me up in other ways, too, and that's the kind of super-power I like best. You take care of yourself, Tynth Kara. Come and see us sometime." 

She shook her head. He had to be the Andy Griffith of the El line. 

Superman VI came last of all, with his General MacArthur demeanor. "And so the day ends for us, Tynth Kara," he said, still unsmiling. "To what my predecessors have said, I can add little. Other than that your beauty is the equal of your valor...and that your valor shows you to be, in my view, the greatest of El women...and among the greatest of all Els. From the first Kal-El to yourself, my line can ask for no better examples of the warriors for Truth, Justice, and the Rokynian Way. I thank you." 

Not knowing how to take it, she just held out her hand and said, "Thank you, Jen-El." He shook it. Then he went to Dev and shook, saying, "Well done, comrade. Treat her well." 

"You've got it, Six," he said. 

Captain Marvel said, "We have to leave, I'm afraid. The Supermen are going to help me take Black Adam and Ar-Ual to the Rock. Tell all the Legionnaires goodbye for me, and if I don't make it here soon, I hope they'll come visit us." 

"We will, Captain," said Kara. 

The six heroes flew to the Legion's brig. There they would release Black Adam and Ar-Ual and convey them both to the Rock of Eternity, where they would be kept as servants of the Old Man, under the watchfulness of Zeus. Both would be given their chance to reform, and both would be given the chance to, perhaps, find love with one another. Whether they did or not is, again, a story for another time. The five Supermen dispersed to their own eras, after making their farewells, and Captain Marvel returned to his Earth. 

None of them would forget meeting each other, or Kara Zor-El. But they would keep their secrets. 

When the Legionnaires later went to release Professor Zoom and transport him back to his own century, they discovered he had vanished. The lassitude drug they had given him had been burned off, in time, by his incredible metabolism. From there, he vibrated out of the metal walls of his cell, and broke the time barrier again, heading for the 20th Century. There, he would make an offer to Iris West that would result in her death, and, ultimately, his own. 

History. 

So, for awhile, it was just Kara and Dev in the Legion's meeting room. And they held hands and talked about what they purposed to do with themselves. 

"What are we going to do, Dev?" she asked. "Could you come back to the 20th Century with me? We could find a job for you, Kal and I could." 

"The 20th?" He made a face. "No offense, Kara, but that century gives me polyps. It's like caveman times, compared to Krypton. I have a job here. I'm not going to leave it. Why don't you stay in this time? What have you got that's so important back there?" 

"Well--for a beginning, my life." 

He spread his hands. "Which means what?" 

She took her hands away from his and laid her hands in her lap. "Which means everything, Dev. My parents. My friends. Everybody I know. You couldn't adapt to the 20th, you think. Maybe I could adapt to the 30th...but there's something else. 

"I've managed to make my life work as Supergirl, but I've never managed to make it work as Kara, or as Linda Danvers. Ever since I've gotten out of college, it's just been switch towns, switch jobs, try to find my niche as a person. I've never really gotten to achieve much of anything that doesn't involve using super-powers. Kal's been a reporter, and he's good at it. He takes as much pride in being a newsman as he does in being a super-hero. And me, well, it's like I think I said to myself one time...I'm kind of the handiwoman to the universe. Someone calls on me, I go there, I do what they tell me, I clobber a super-villain, and I go back to my civvies until somebody wants Supergirl again. 

"There's so much more I could do than beating up super-villains. Kal and I have powers that could benefit the whole world. He thinks that we should let humanity develop as it's supposed to. I'm not sure we shouldn't be pitching in there and advancing it. Stopping wars, feeding people, helping fight disease...I know it sounds dumb. I know it sounds idealistic. But there's so much more I could do, and I'm not doing it. Does that make sense? Even if I have to make an effort as plain old Linda Danvers, I'm ready to. And for that, I have to be back in my own time. You're almost worth giving that up for, Dev...but I'm sorry. It's time for me to be selfish, in this case." 

He studied her over clenched hands. "Selfish, perhaps, but adorable. But you don't want to let this thing go, do you?" 

"Well...no," she said, hesitantly. "Not if we can help it." 

"You have weekends off, don't you?" 

"Yes, usually I do. Um, does that mean what I think it does?" 

"It means that I'll give you a signal on the old Legion ring Friday nights in your time, and let you know when and where to meet me. This love has just started out, Kara. Let's do what we can to keep it going a while, and see where it takes us. I think it's worth a try. How about you?" 

She sighed. "That sounds like the best idea I've heard in a long, long time, Devian." She took him in her arms and kissed him, open-mouthed. When they came up for air and hugged, he said, "You know, you don't have to go home yet. You can stay awhile, and go back to just after you left." 

"I know, Dev, but I really should. We can stay together an extra day or so, though." 

"Uh, Kara, Dev, hello," said Wildfire. 

The two of them lurched around in their chair, and saw that Drake and Dawny had returned. "Holy Rao," gasped Kara. "It's Wildfire! Drake--you died saving me!" She got up and gave him a big hug of gratitude. "What happened to you?" 

"I kinda got better, but it took awhile," Wildfire said. "I'm glad I had the chance to save you. You repaid the favor, kind of. I'll talk about it later." 

"Well, you'd better." She disengaged from him and took Dawnstar by the shoulders. "Dawny, I am so happy for you. I never dreamed this could happen, even with all of the stuff I've seen so far." 

"Thank you, Kara," she said, simply. "I am also very happy to have my Drake back again." 

Supergirl couldn't miss the trace of sadness in her eyes, and wondered why, but didn't press. 

The other Legionnaires were beginning to file into the room, and all of them milled about Kara in joy. There was much hugging, much handshaking, and a decent amount of cheek-kissing. But in the midst of all that, Computo gave an announcement. 

"Laurel Kent leaves message that she and Qwerl Dox, codename: Brainiac 5, are 'out,'" said the computer. "She asks that the other Legionnaires, quote, 'carry on without us,' unquote. End of message." 

There was laughter and a few shrieks of mirth and joy in its aftermath. John Constantine, still holding Mysa's hand (a gesture which the others noted, but did not comment upon), said, "How's about that, Mysa? Ol' Greengenes got 'imself a bird at last. That ought to keep 'im happy, for a change, besides futzin' around with Computero." 

"I think it will, yes, John," she said. "And I'm sorry that you have to go back." She paused. "This isn't a bad place to be in, really." 

"No, it ain't, darlin'," he said, sitting on a seat near one of the walls. "But it ain't my place. Nor my time, really. Got bricks in the oven back home." He hesitated. "If you call ahead, maybe you could see me." 

"Maybe," she said. "But...you've got somebody back home?" 

He worked his jaw a bit. "On occasion," he admitted. 

"I'll never forget you, John," she said, at last. 

"Make sure of it," he said. "I may need the work." He kissed her again. Then she took him to the room where they stored the Time-Cube.   
  
John Constantine emerged from it not far out of London on a brisk afternoon, and began hoofing it back to his apartment, hoping he could thumb a ride along the way. While he walked, he whistled one of the filler tracks from Mucous Membrane's one and only album. 

Mysa had told him, before he left, that the child they were looking for was named Tim Hunter. That was just great, he had told her, as if there weren't probably several thousand kids named Tim Hunter in the world. Couldn't she narrow it down a bit? She couldn't. At least it was something to go on. 

Well, after he'd gotten back in, he'd see about getting hold of the Stranger again, since he was the one who'd brought it to John's attention a few weeks ago. He hoped they wouldn't have to hire a detective agency to find the kid. When that happened, the Stranger always wanted him to pay. 

John Constantine stretched himself, decided it was better to think about Mysa, and walked on. 

It is definite that he attended church at least once, afterward. It is probable that he voted once for Margaret Thatcher, though such cannot be verified. But he did not forget his marker. 

And not once was he known to cut off an angel's wings, or to cause its fall. 

When Mysa came back to the meeting room, Ultra Boy and Phantom Girl were standing on two chairs, about to make a proclamation. He looked in her direction. "Ah, she's back! Okay, I'll go ahead and tell you all. We've still got some arrangements to make, and some people to call. But if everything works out, come next Thursday, you're all invited to see the lovely Miss Tinya Wazzo become Mrs. Jo Nah." A big cheer went up from the Legionnaires. "And you'd better be there, too!" 

While they were clapping, Dev leaned over to Kara. "Well, Kara? You know you've got to stay for at least that long, don't you?" 

She replied, "Yes, Dev. I'll stay for the wedding. And we can be together at least till then." 

"At least?" 

"Well--" She smiled back at him. "Maybe a little longer." 

"That's just what I wanted to hear," he said, and took her hand. 

She didn't know how she was going to tell Kal. 

-S- 

In between then and the wedding, the government of Rokyn learned how their planet had been saved, and who was responsible. They issued a series of awards in absentia to the five Supermen, gave another one to Kara, and gave a last one to Dev, who had to accept his in secret. He was still, after all, a spy. 

The restrictions against him were finally lifted by the government, and he was allowed to see his mother, and took Kara with him. They had a tearful reunion. When he asked, as he had to, what had become of his father, he was told that his father was dead. 

So it goes. 

-S- 

Two years after these events, this happened: 

A massive figure looked into a very special nursery on a rather remote planet. There was only one infant there, but there were many attendants, some with small Kryptonite medallions, some with wands, all with protective clothing. 

The child rested within an Inertron-walled crib. For the moment, he slept soundly. The overseer mused that even this might not be able to hold him, should his strength be as great as a full-grown Kryptonian. But this, for the moment, was what they would house him in. 

An assistant, standing by him, said, "A dangerous child, indeed, sire. Even Mordru's power might not be enough to restrain him." 

"Mordru was a fool," said the other. "I bearded him twice. Once, I took his power. Then, I took his child. When he achieves full growth, he will be a tool even greater than those used in the elder days." 

"A fool, indeed," agreed the assistant, who dared not do anything else. 

"But a useful fool," said his master. "One who is easily capitalized upon. And the child is born of one who was cloned from she who caused me no small inconvienience in the past. That, too, is fitting." 

"Fitting, indeed," said the assistant. "To have taken the Supergirl-clone from her imprisonment, Boom Tubed her to a point one year in her future, kept her comatose until her child's delivery, then sent her back to confront the Supergirl...a stroke of genius." 

The assistant grinned. "Why, you might even say, Dread Lord, that the Satan Girl was Supergirl's dark--" 

The master whirled and swiftly pierced the other's gut with the spear he was holding. The Spear of Destiny. 

Desaad clutched at the shaft transfixing his midsection in agony. His master shot forth beams from his eyes which reduced him to his primal atoms. Later, he would reassemble them, and trust that Desaad would learn by that not to make jokes using his name. 

Would it take 15 years to make the child a warrior of magnitude? 18? 20? It mattered not. He would give him as long as it took, and there were other things to be done in the meantime. 

In this, as in all other things, Darkseid was patient. 


End file.
